bloodlsandy@gmail.com
Is Trinidad and Tobago better off in the post-colonial era, and can it truly govern itself? Those are the central questions being reopened on stage this week as Victor D Questel’s One Man and His Dog returns in a reimagined production at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop (TTW), 6 Newbold Street, St Clair, on June 27 and 28.
Presented as an evening of “dramatic reading”, the 90-minute production uses theatre as a lens to revisit these enduring national debates, bringing Questel’s work back into focus nearly half a century after it was first conceived. The production is dedicated to TTARP and its members.
The staging is directed by theatre, television and film actress, stage manager, playwright and producer Theresa Awai, with design by Trinidadian-Canadian instructional designer Ashok Singh. The cast includes versatile actor Errol “Blood” Roberts, known for No Boundaries and Westwood Park; pannist Isabella Burke; and vocalist Gerald Edwards, whose music forms part of the production’s soundscape.
One Man and His Dog was originally staged in 1981 and remained in draft form following Questel’s passing in 1982 at age 33. Presented then as a period piece, the play captured T&T at just 10 years old – a young nation still grappling with its post-colonial identity. This production, on June 27 from 7 pm and June 28 from 6:30 pm, re-examines the work through a contemporary lens as well.
While it can be staged to address the 1960s through to the 1980s, it also speaks directly to 2026 – from foreign aid then to the global economy and digital dependence now. The theme makes it timeless. Questel lived through the end of the colonial era. He saw the Union Jack come down and the red, black and white go up. We were cut from the navel string of the British Empire and set adrift on the sea of independence.
In 1970, he witnessed the Black Power Revolution when thousands of Black youth marched through this country. He saw the rise of the National Joint Action Committee, where Makandal Daaga, leader of the movement, first raised his clenched fist in the air and shouted, “Black Power!” – a symbol which has become an international rallying cry for Black power.
The play is an allegory. Written about a man and his dog, it spoke directly to the angst of a newly independent T&T. It asks whether we were better off tethered to the colonial masters, and whether we could truly govern ourselves. He argued that the old white masters were replaced by new colonials: Western supremacy, foreign capital – the IMF and other lending agencies. Are these the “neo-colonials”?
Comparing the two eras shows that Questel’s allegory endures. What he originally identified in the 1960s and 70s as political struggles and enslavement now reads in 2026 as a new kind of appeasement. The “dog” is the modern citizen, conditioned by digital habits to consume and obey. Questel’s warning still holds awards for local talent not knighted until stamped approved by foreign powers.
The play is set in 1981 in an Old People’s Home near the train line somewhere between San Juan and Tunapuna. Even at that time, he predicted that one day these homes might be called apartments. The family circle that once cared for its elders has been replaced, bit by bit. Today they are called Retirement/Senior Citizens Homes and Assisted Living Facilities, far away from train stations but still isolated from family. So, 45 years later, can we say as a nation that we are truly independent?
Launching her directorial debut with this production, Theresa Awai is registered with the National Registry of Certified Cultural Workers and has over 40 years of experience in the performing arts sector. She is a highly decorated Cacique Award-winning Trinidadian stage, television and film actress, as well as an outstanding playwright and author who has written a number of books and plays.
Holding a steady and versatile presence in T&T’s performing arts for over five decades, Errol “Blood” Roberts has moved between the stage, screen, radio studio and television set.
He is a Best Village multi-Best Actor award winner and has appeared in some of T&T’s most beloved productions. His stage work has spanned T&T, most recently with the Tobago Guild, while his screen work continues with collaborations alongside veteran filmmaker and actor Hansley Adjodha. He has also written and directed his own productions and given time freely to schools and youth groups across both islands.
Isabella Burke, 8, began playing pan at age five and is thrilled to be a pannist. She was introduced to the instrument by actor Roberts, her grandfather. She attends Trincity Government Primary School and will be playing the National Anthem and Sparrow’s Jean and Dinah.
