Additional upcoming dates and venues:
September 11 @ Sir John A. Macdonald CI in Scarborough
September 12 @ Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School (Etobicoke)
September 18 @ Bronson Centre (Ottawa)
September 25 @ Bishop Ryan Catholica Secondary School (Hamilton)
October 10 @ Living Arts Centre – Hammerson Hall (Mississauga)

Scheduled to show in 10 U.S. cities this October, the tour will start on October 2 in Boston, Massachusetts followed by a staging on October 3 in Hartford, Connecticut.

During the tour, a number of celebrities are set to make special appearances including top New York dancehall/reggae radio personality DJ Roy, Jamaican comedian and radio personality Raggashanti and Jamaican comedian and personality Miss Kitty, among others. Guests will vary from state-to-state. At all times though, each staging will follow Irish and Chin’s unique theme of dancehall meets theater. There will also be raffles during each performance.

“I commend the die hard efforts of those who have contributed to the growth of Caribbean theater,” says Garfield “Chin” Bourne of promotions company Irish and Chin. “I only hope that in the future Irish and Chin will stand among those of great importance in this genre.”

Stages Productions “The Plumber,” which opened in Jamaica earlier this year to rave reviews, boasts an all-star cast. Andrea Wright, better known as the comedic character Delcita, leads the cast. Hailing from Clarendon, Jamaica, Wright hs been a part of Paul O. Beale’s plays since 1989. Notably, Wright has starred in more than ten plays and a television show. Additionally, much to her credit, she has co-directed two commercial plays. The actress first played her distincly funny character Delcita Coldwater in 1993. Theatergoers can anticipate being doubled over in laughter from Delcita’s constant off-beat humor in “The Plumber.”

Cast member Garfield Reid is truly one of Jamaica’s most visible and respected actors. Moreover, Reid thrives as a writer, director and producer, who rose to theatrical prominence in Michael Denton’s hit play “Hearsay.” Since then, he has starred in several productions. Reid gained popularity as the idyllic character “Bad Boy Trevor.” However, one of his most laudable works to date is writing “Bashment Granny,” one of the most popular stage plays in Jamaica’s theater history. “Bashment Granny” will make it’s film debut in December 2010. In “The Plumber,” Reid plays John Jones, a detective who is worn down from more than 20 years of crime fighting on the police force.

Stede Flash also shines as a co-star and co-writer of “The Plumber”. With over two decades of acting in commercial theater, Flash’s most memorable character to date is “Jooky Jam”, from the series “Maama Man.” Introduced to acting by his high school drama tutor, Flash’s first break came in 1985 when he starred in Hyacinth Brown’s “Boopsie.” In “The Plumber,” Flash portrays Stamma. Actor Michael Nicholson rounds off “The Plumber’s” cast as suave ladies man Andre Pumpit. Although Nicholson is one of the most sought after directors in Jamaica today, he is an accomplished actor having starred in numerous pantomimes and copping the Actor Boy Award in 2000 for his supporting work in “Oliver’s Posse.” The play also features seasoned cast members Belinda Reid (Janet Jones), Trudy Bell (Cindy Pumpit) and Actor Everaldo Creary (Stamma).

Irish and Chin’s U.S. tour of “The Plumber” will be high profiled, receiving a lot of media coverage in each city. “The Plumber” is guaranteed to keep audiences in stitches. Advance tickets for the play’s first few stagings in Boston (October 2), Hartford (October 3), Brooklyn (October 9) and Queens (October 10) are now for sale at irishandchin.com. Additional tour dates and venues will be available soon.

The rib-tickling, thought-provoking story revolves around a house that a man leaves behind in his estate, with no known relatives. Jim Daddy (played by Christopher McFarlane), the burgular, who unintentionally causes the death of the man who’s house he’s robbing, tries all sorts of methods to stake claim on the house. He navigates around the police, lawyers and potential purchasers, but little does he know that there is far more to this house than meets the eye .. and maybe he either isn’t destined to get it or … maybe he may not even really want it in the end.

So what is fi yuh … cyan un fi yuh.

“What Is Fi Yuh …” opens September 2 (through to September 26) at the Pantry Play House (2 Dumfries Road, Kingston). For more information, please call 977-2080.

Among the talented cast is none other than entertainment diva Amelia ‘Milk’ Sewell, who (along with Nadia Khan) will tackle the role of the sultry ‘Gillian Forbes’. Gillian’s seduction of the very married Danny Bryan (played by Peter Lloyd and Jerry Benzwick) propels the lifelong debate of whether a woman can rape a man, and forces her to defend her actions in a court room so dramatic that audiences can’t help but deliver their own verdicts!

AGAINST HIS WILL, which is directed by Douglas Prout, sees Peter Lloyd breaking his haitus from live theatre, to reprise the role of Bryan, and he is joined by Nadean Rawlins who will tackle the role of prosecuting attorney Rachel Robinson. Jean Paul Menou plays defense attorney Lincoln Jacobs, while veteran actress Marguerite Newland handles the role of Judge Buchanan. Young dynamo, Sakina Deer, plays the role of Lloyd’s wife, Heather Bryan.

AGAINST HIS WILL plays at the Theatre Place on Haining Road from Wednesday to Saturday at 8 p.m., and on Sundays at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Debra Ehrhardt got a standing ovation on the first night of Jamaica Farewell, which has been running at The Theatre place on Haining Road. The following morning, Ehrhardt revealed plans to make the one-woman play into a movie. Pre-production is set to begin within the next two years … more here

‘Run Di Track’ is the theatrical X-ray of a televised popular music talent show, cutting through what the audience is allowed to see on the small (or large and flat) screen to show behind the scenes – the foibles of feral contestants, the cut-throat competition, the lives they are required to turn off and switch on the smile when the camera is rolling .. more here

Written and performed by Jamaican-born Debra Ehrhardt, Jamaica, Farewell has been heralded as one of the best one-woman shows to hit the stage — so much so, that many eagerly anticipate its adaptation to film by Hollywood’s Rita Wilson. It was a full house at Pablo Hoilett’s Theatre Place on Wednesday night … more here

“The actor, who has appeared in at least 50 hit theatrical productions to date, including 13 LTM pantomimes, appearing alongside theatre icons, Louise Bennett-Coverly and Ranny Williams — Miss Lou and Mass Ran, is arguably Jamaica’s most compelling theatre voice with a colourful mastery for the Jamaican style,” … more

Debra Ehrhardt’s 90-minute one woman autobiographical show ‘Jamaica, Farewell’ – in which she plays a quadruple handful of characters – is not exactly new … when it opens at the Theatre Place, Haining Road, New Kingston today for a five-day run ‘Jamaica, Farewell’ will be new to the country in which it has its roots … more