THE Jubilee Film Festival continues this weekend, beginning with the well-known and well-loved play, “Till ah find a place: After the 50th” by Ronald Hollingsworth, which will be hosted at the Theatre Guild from 19:00hrs. Playing the lead roles would be Mark Kazim and Leslyn BobbSemple, with Michael Ignatius as the crazy boyfriend.
Supporting roles will be played by Sean Thompson, Mark Luke-Edwards, Le Tisha Da Silva and Makini Harry.
The play has entertained thousands over the years, ever since it was first staged in 1991 at the National Cultural Centre.
The lead roles were played by Henry Rodney, Nicola Smith and Desiree Edghill. The original cast of 1991 toured Linden, Bartica, Anna Regina and New Amsterdam.
The word got out that “Till Ah Find A Place” was the play to see, and Guyanese everywhere wanted it staged in their hometown.
In 1994, the play was staged at the Billy Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, New York, with a cast of Caribbean thespians and Hollingsworth as the guest director/playwright.
The play was a hit, and was staged again in New York Off-Broadway at the Producers Club.
In 1998, the play was staged again in Guyana, with a new group of talented actors. On this occasion, it was rebranded “Till Ah Find A Place: In Sophia”. This time, the leads were played by Howard Lorimer, La Vonne George and Michelle Elphage, with support from the late Rudy Pateetdeo, who played Eddie, the crazy boyfriend, a crowd favorite.
In 2001, the play made its way to Texas, Hollingsworth’s new home, where it was staged in Dallas. The actors were all US citizens, except the lead role of Linden, which was played by Hollingworth himself.
The play was then staged again in 2006 with yet another subtitle, “Till Ah Find a Place: After the Flood”. Again, Henry Rodney was cast as the lead male, alongside Sonia Yarde, the lead female on this occasion. However, it was Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones who came out as the audience favourite, playing Eddie the crazy boyfriend.
After being on a hiatus for ten years, the show has been revived for the Jubilee Theatre Festival with a new spin: “Till Ah Find A Place: After the 50th”.
Hollingsworth is excited to see what the cast will do with it this time. “This current cast has the potential of making this the best rendition yet of ‘Till Ah Find A Place’,” he said.