– set for NCC Feb. 14

 THE producers of the popular and much-loved ‘Nothing to Laugh About’ show are bringing to the Guyanese audience this February 14 a play that was deliberately written to target typical problems around elections time.

On that Friday night, “Romeo and Juliet” in Guyanese style is expected to be exquisitely dramatised on the stage of the National Cultural Centre (NCC). “It is a parody of [Shakespeare’s] Romeo and Juliet. We will be taking elements from the original story and using them in a Guyanese setting,” Leza ‘Radica’ Singh, who is co-producing with Maria Benschop, told the Buzz.

The producers will be working along with some of the country’s most loved, talented, and versatile actors and actresses.

The cast includes Michael ‘Credit’ Ignatius, Mark Luke-Edwards, Clemencio Goddette, Mark ‘Chiney Man’ Kazim, Denzil Jones, Aleena Hoalim, Ladonna Kissoon, Sophera Waldron, and Godfrey Naughton. Naughton is also the director of the show.

According to the ‘Parika Backdam’ girl (Leza), the play will tackle such issues as racism, the political divide, suicide and mental health. “We are smack in the middle of the election season, so the play is deliberately written to target the typical issues we have around this time,” Leza said.

In fact, Leza has always tried to keep things real, even in her comedy. “I try to be realistic with my comedy, and most of my jokes come from what actually happens. And I don’t even think people know that,” she said. “They think I’m just talking ‘stupidness’ on stage. Most of my jokes are true; it might be slightly exaggerated, but most are true. It’s things people tell me or things I would have experienced growing up,” she’d told this publication in a previous interview.

But it’s not all about serious business for “Romeo and Juliet”. The audience can also expect to be thrown off their seats as if dying with laughter. “Laughter, music, dance… Basically, it’s entertainment from start to finish,” Leza said about the show.
Tickets will soon be out for $1,000, $1,500 and $2,500. The show is expected to start at exactly 20:00hrs.

Meanwhile, patrons can expect a sizzling show and performance from the cast members and producers of the show, who have a track record of producing high-quality entertainment in Guyana.

‘Nothing to Laugh About’, for instance, has been around for a whopping 12 years, with sold-out crowds each year. The producers and actors put their hearts and souls into creating the sort of ‘magic’ on stage that the crowds cannot get enough of.

Maria, being quite particular, likes things to be done a certain way, and would, therefore, go out of her way to ensure that she is able to achieve the kind of effect she wants on the stage. Each year, the show seems to come bigger and better than the last.