Jamaican Plays

Sequels are always risky. Very often a successful film is serialized in order to reap the benefits of having a loyal following which could ultimately lead to a strong franchise. There have been both notable failures and successes with this strategy. Bashment Granny 2 seems destined to be a major success as a sequel. Credit must be given to Garfield “Bad Boy Trevor” Reid (Script), to Michael “Stringbeans” Nicholson (directing) and to Stages Productions for pulling this one off so effectively. By all indicators, Bashment Granny 2 is the play for 2009.

The play is picked up where the story left off in Bashment Granny; that same twelve million dollar mystery. Half-A-Dog (Junior Williams), is the owner of the money, and he wants to collect his money fast. Mr. Bashment (Maxwell Grant) and Shebada (Keith Ramsay) are the custodians of the cash and they have no intention of giving it back, because too much has been invested in lounge jointly owed by Bashment and Shebada. While Mr. Bashment runs the bar, Shebada lives the daily excitement as an officer of the law. Business is going good and plans are afoot for expansion. However, within this shinny outlook lays the determination of Half-A-Dog (Junior Williams). His arrival in Jamaica sits on one main objective; to retrieve his cash at all cost. The place is then turned upside down as Mr. Bashment and Shebada try to keep the dog from his “Bone”.

The dog’s tactical romantic connection with Mr. Bashment’s bartender, Barbalita (Abigail Grant) made life more complicated for Shebada and Bashment as they struggle to hide the money. In the meantime, Shebada’s indiscretion with his firearm brought him a day in court and he employs the services of noted Ghetto Lawyer Bertram (Volier Johnson) who is trying hard to prevent his domineering wife Gloria (Deon Silvera) from serving divorce papers. The side show between Gloria and Bertram served as a delightful subplot to the issue of the Dog’s millions. Based off what I have seen in this exciting sequel, Bashment Granny 3 (the future) will be a clash between bad Boy Trevor, Shebada, Mr. Bashment and Half-A-Dog.

After his role in ‘Di Driver’, it was refreshing to see Shebada playing a brand new character in bashment Granny 2. As a less-than-honourable officer, his portrayal came off well and is extremely funny. Barbalita as the bartender, shows that she can speak and speak well (she is somewhat muted in Bashment Granny). Maxwell Grant is amazing, he plays 5 characters and he came off excellently with all of them. At 60-something years, he shows no sign of slowing down. Junior Williams as Half-A-Dog fits well in the story and with the team of actors. Bashment Granny 2 is big on comedy, big on excitement and should be very interesting to see how it measures up to its predecessor when it goes to the country.