Tangerine Clarke (Caribbean Life) writes about the off-Broadway debut of Caribbean drama “Mamma Decemba,” produced and directed by Jamaican director Merlina Rich and written by Jamaican playwright Nigel D. Moffatt. The play will be on stage between May 4 and 13, 2023, at The New Perspectives Theatre Studio, located at 458 West 37th Street @ 10th Avenue, New York, New York. [Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this play to our attention.]

Sure Thing Productions told Caribbean Life that full casting has been announced for the Banana Boat Productions and New Perspectives Theatre Company New York revival of Nigel D. Moffatt’s Caribbean Drama “Mamma Decemba,” which will open at The New Perspectives Theatre Studio on Thursday, May 4 for a limited run of eight performances. [. . .]

The cast of “Mamma Decemba” comprises Paula Galloway, Christopher Laing, and two-time Audelco Award nominee, Dianne Dixon.Artistic Director of Banana Boat Productions, Merlina Rich, will direct the production.

Set in England during the 1980s, Moffat’s comedy- drama was the winner of Britain’s 1985 Samuel Beckett Award, sponsored by the Royal Court Theater and Channel 4.

Production notes describe the play as “a bittersweet story that raises questions about the true nature of lifelong relationships, as an elderly Jamaican woman living in England (Galloway) finds herself widowed, jobless and seemingly deserted by her children in her waning years. Her attempts to cope with her increasing solitude involve hauntingly honest, frequently humorous, and sometimes painful reflections on her past, especially the death of her husband John (Laing). Sharing in her most private moments is her best and perhaps only friend, Mertel (Dixon).”

See full review at https://www.caribbeanlife.com/revival-of-nigel-d-moffatts-caribbean-drama-mamma-decemba-opens-may-4/

Mamma Decemba
Nigel D. Moffatt
Directed by Merlina Rich
May 4 – 13, 2023
The New Perspectives Theatre Studio, 458 West 37th Street @ 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10018
https://www.newperspectivestheatre.org/current-programs/2023/3/15/mamma-decemba

Also see a review by Stephanie Korney at https://jamaicans.com/jamaican-producer-and-director-merlina-rich-to-stage-broadway-debut-of-caribbean-drama

[Photo above by Doug Barron: Dianne Dixon (left), Paula Galloway and Christopher Laing in “Mamma Decemba.”]

For more on the director, see https://www.instagram.com/merlinarich/

For more on the writer, see https://www.blackplaysarchive.org.uk/explore/playwrights/moffatt-nigel