Junction Village premieres to live audience at Naparima Bowl

JUNCTION Village, a comedic play written by Douglas Archibald and performed by the National Theatre Arts Company (NTAC), will premiere this weekend at the Naparima Bowl, San Fernando.

The play is set in the 1950s during a traditional bongo night and tells the story of a village gathering to pay its respects to a stalwart from the community who is close to death.

This is NTAC’s first theatrical production before a live audience since the pandemic closed performing spaces in early 2020.

NTAC is one of three performing entities with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts (MTCA).

Minister of Tourism Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell said the staging of Junction Village aligns with the ministry’s commitment to promote and support TT’s culture and creatives industries, particularly during this difficult period.

The play will premiere on March 27 at 7.30 pm at the Bowl with a repeat performance on March 28 at 6 pm. It will move on to Queen’s Hall, St Ann's on April 3 at 7.30 pm and on April 4 for a 6 pm show.

Mitchell welcomed the production which he said provides an avenue for creatives to sustain their livelihoods and a space for patrons to enjoy arts and culture in a safe environment. There will be an entrance fee of $50 for adults, while children under 17 get free entry, but they must be accompanied by an adult.

Mitchell told the Newsday, "These productions are quite expensive and highly valuable. Expenses include the cost to build props, costumes, lighting design and sound engineering, rental fees and sometimes copyright fees. In the past, these productions were offered for free but were, regrettably, poorly attended.

"We’ve decided at the Ministry to partner the Culture Division with the Naparima Bowl to market and produce the play and to charge a nominal entrance fee.

"The Culture Division and the NTAC, the National Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Steel Symphony Orchestra (NSSO) at the ministry are all very excited to produce a series of shows for the public over the course of the year.

"We also plan to digitise some of the activities around the hosting of these productions where tickets are purchased and delivered electronically and can be scanned on entry and the download of playbills.

"This is something we very much look forward to and I encourage the public to attend. Seats are limited to 50 per cent capacity and very strict covid protocols remain in place."

Naparima Bowl and other national performance spaces re-opened late last year and operate in adherence to the public health regulations with modified seating arrangements to allow physical distancing.

“I am pleased that the national performing entities were able to stage this production during the covid 19 pandemic. It is an encouraging development because yet again we are finding ways to keep our Trinbago culture alive and our artistic community engaged. I do believe this production will be a welcomed addition to the entertainment calendar,” Mitchell said.