Monster March premieres this Friday, presented by Lordstreet Theatre, Arts in Action & the OWTU

Set for a premiere on Friday 29th June at the historic Palms Club in San Fernando, Tony Hall’s Lordstreet Theatre, the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) and Arts-in-Action present MONSTER MARCH, in celebration of the OWTU’s 75th anniversary.
Running 29th and 30th June, the play is written by the veteran actor, director, and playwright Tony Hall, along with brother Dennis ‘Sprangalang’ Hall and Errol Sitahal, with music by Andre Tanker and direction by Arts-in-Action’s Marvin George. The play explores the history of the OWTU, and features a stellar cast including Lylah Persad, Arnold Goindhan, Brendon Lacaille, Mark Nottingham, Marcus Waldron, Noel Blandin and The Workers, a chorus led by Kurtis Gross.
Originally presented in 1987 to commemorate 50 years of the history of workers’ struggle in Trinidad and Tobago, MONSTER MARCH is set against the backdrop of The Federal Bar. The play presents – in graphic terms – the realities of its regular patrons: Customs Man, the comfortable public servant; Miss Maraj, the helper; Unemployed Man, the job-less labourer; News, the rum-shop philosopher; and Mr. Ragbir, the bar owner. The in-house tensions reflect the uneasy rumblings of the workers outside led by Union Man and local workers’ movements across time.
MONSTER MARCH promises to be dynamic, humorous, informative and even transformative as it touches on critical issues, like the merits of trade unions, race relations and the citizens’ role in developing our young nation
Co-author Tony Hall has a long career of documenting local lives and culture. He has worked with the Trinidad Theatre Workshop and at the pioneering Banyan Limited. In 1992 he co-directed the award-winning documentary, And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon. His recent acclaimed tour-de-force, Miss Miles: the woman of the World, has played to sold-out audiences for several runs in Trinidad, while his acclaimed Jean and Dinah is being adapted into a feature film. Hall’s other plays include the powerful and provocative Twilight Café; and with David Rudder, the ground breaking calypso musical The Brand New Lucky Diamond Horseshoe Club. Hall’s work has been celebrated by local audience, critics and fellow writers as some of “the finest West Indian theatre” (Derek Walcott), a “triumph” (Earl Lovelace), and “lively…touching…powerful” (Judy Raymond).
Arts-in-Action (AiA) is the premier applied creative arts company in the Caribbean. As one of the outreach programmes of the Centre for the Creative and Festival Arts, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, it has revolutionised the way in which the arts work. AiA specialises in using the creative arts in the widest of developmental settings. From primary and secondary school interventions to community and corporate workshops, AiA uses arts based techniques to treat with issues ranging from change management to HIV/AIDS awareness to mathematics.
MONSTER MARCH runs two nights only: Friday 29th and Saturday 30th June. Tickets are $100 and $50 with valid student ID, and available from Cleve’s (Fredrick Street, 624-0827); the OWTU Port of Spain office (Henry Street, 623-6094); OWTU San Fernando office (Circular Road, 652-2701); and the TTUTA Head Office (Southern Main Road, Curepe, 645-2738).
For more information about the production and much more, visit Lordstreet Theatre’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/lordstreettheatre, or call: 791-2193.