Tom, Dick and Harry promises non-stop laughter

THEATRE lovers have been waiting for an opportunity to exhale since the onset of the pandemic closed creative spaces.

And what better way to do so than with a rib-tickling comedy/farce planned for this weekend, December 3-5, at the Little Carib Theatre.

That is when Better Than We? Wey! Productions makes its debut with the riotous comedy, Tom, Dick and Harry, under the direction of theatre stalwart Trevon C Jugmohan of First Instinct Productions.

The play, written by Ray Cooney and his son Michael, will also make its debut on a local stage.

The talented cast includes Kearn Samuel, Nicholas Subero, Arnold “Pinny” Goindhan, Kevon S Brooks, Mark Nottingham, Kyle Hernandez, Cindy F Daniel, Shevonne Tricia Metivier and Paula Hamilton-Smith.

The technical team boasts of Rachel Elcock and Keshala Mahabir, and Rachel Bascombe-Walters as production manager.

Little Carib Theatre at White and Robert Streets, Woodbrook, is a safe zone and will only be able to accommodate 50 per cent of its regular audience. Jugmohan cautioned the 112 lucky patrons who get the opportunity to attend, “if you have asthma, walk with your inhaler. If you have bronchitis, walk with your medication. It is going to be non-stop laughter,” he promised.

“I have done many comedies before and this is one of the funniest. While that may sound like advertising of marketing, I genuinely mean this. The script is funny and allows us to adapt it to our region with some contemporary information snuck in to make a statement.

“Not because you are laughing means that a statement cannot resonate. After all, the stage is a reflection of life.”

He said in the new “fall-out-of your-seat-laughing” comedy, Tom and his wife are about to adopt a baby and convince the adoption agency that they will make good parents.

It all seems pretty straightforward until Tom’s errant brothers get involved. Throw in alcohol, illegal immigrants and a corpse and patrons will be crying with laughter in this fast-paced farce.

Jugmohan said their licence to stage the play has given them the right to adapt, and so different aspects of life in Trinidad and Tobago, including the Venezuelan migrant situation, will be interjected to make it more relevant and identifiable.

He said the core members of the Better Than We? Wey! Productions team worked for years under the directorship of the late Raymond Choo Kong in comedic productions and in 2019, collaborated on the dramatic production Circle Mirror Transformation.

He said they have since made a commitment to honing their crafts together for the promotion and encouragement of theatre stagecraft, and the provision of opportunities for the enjoyment of dramatic arts through the regular staging of theatrical performance.

Nevertheless, he said the group is not a “Raymond replacement,” but rather a group of talented people who seized the moment, “To let Trinidad and Tobago know that we are still here, that we are very good at what we do and this is what we have to offer.

“The majority of people in this group have day jobs, but some of us producers do this for a living.”

While it may not be financially profitable, Jugmohan said with the pandemic shutting down doors to entertainment venues for a long time, now that they have a breathing space they have embraced the opportunity to get back to the stage.

“We are kind of doing this for ourselves to tell the population not to forget us, because we are not certain after the Prime Minister’s warning last week, how much longer spaces will remain opened.

“One of the things we learnt from Raymond, is that when you have a performance you are representing the entire industry, not just your company.

“So, we are coming to fly that flag properly, to do a high-quality comedy from the man who gave us, Run for Your Wife.”

He said beyond Sunday, he is not certain if Tom, Dick and Harry will play at other venues as covid19 infection and deaths continue to climb.

He admitted it is a rushed production, only one month in the making, but they have been rehearsing non-stop to ensure that the fun they have on stage is translated to the audience.

For more info: Follow Better Than We? Wey! Productions on Facebook and Instagram, betterthanwewey@gmail.com