Choose Your Partner Wisely at Shaw Park

VETERAN actor Raymond Choo Kong is hoping his play, Choose Your Partner Wisely, will be a hit with theatre lovers in Tobago.

The play, held in collaboration with Haute Spot Ltd, is being staged at Shaw Park Cultural Complex, Scarborough, tomorrow at 8.30 pm.

Choo Kong told Newsday his plays have enjoyed much success on the island over the years. He is hoping Choose Your Partner Wisely, one of his more recent projects, will follow suit.

"I have done Everybody Loves Raymond and others but that was a long, long time ago. So, we are hoping that it would be the start of something because I have always been interested in extending the theatre run into Tobago," he said.

"We normally do Port of Spain and south (Trinidad) so if we could include Tobago in that then Tobagonians will expect that as long as they see one of our plays running, they will know that we are coming to Tobago eventually."

Choo Kong added: "I have been very lucky in the sense that everytime I have been to Tobago, we had full houses. We used Signal Hill Secondary School, which is a fairly large space. The last time we were there at least 700 people were there."

An adaptation of the Tyler Perry movie, Why Did I Get Married?, Choo Kong said the play is essentially a comedy about four couples who get together every year to visit resort destinations around the world.

He said on this occasion, they visit scenic Charlotteville, Tobago.

"They talk about themselves, their marriages and about self-development. But what has happened is that each of the couples has their own situation going on."

Choo Kong said one of the couples has a death in the family, which they are yet to resolve, while another has a marriage "out of social alignment."

"A country Indian person gets married to an uppity black person and that has built-in problems."

Choo Kong said although the play deals with serious issues, it unfolds in a hilarious and engaging manner.

"I feel this is a play that Tobagonians would like because it is highly-entertaining and I think we will get a full house. I am hoping Tobagonians do come out so we can start a trend for Tobago. I would like to include Tobago in that theatre run."

John Charles, CEO of Haute Spot Ltd, said the company is committed to developing and promoting Tobago as a destination of choice.

He said cultivating an appreciation for theatre arts among Tobagonians is one aspect of that thrust.

"That requires strategic branding and part of that brand identity is content development. We have chosen to produce this event as part of that focus and undertaking and intervention on behalf of the people of Tobago in elevating the quality of life, in terms of entertainment options available on the island," Charles said.

Choose Your Partners Wisely's cast includes Mark Nottingham, Sheila Bascombe, Nicholas Subero, Jeanine Lee Kim, Trevon C Jugmohan and Renee King.

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