The performances in the National Drama Festival (NDF) 2015 came to a rollicking, hilarious end with the performance of a comic farce – popular theatre of a type that appeals to the contemporary audience. Yet there were only a few of that type that stood out in the NDF and the nominations reveal quite a mixture of different types. Among the nominees are plays, players and performances that truly demonstrate the current preoccupations on the local stage, including some of the best of those types. The 2015 NDF can claim success in showcasing the best productions from different parts of the country while exhibiting a study of what the national dramatists are doing – of what local theatre is like at the present time.
The curtain-closing farce – Crack Jokes written and directed by Odessa Primus – competes against different types on the list of nominees released by the panel of judges. It contends with another popular play – Diplomatic Blow by Ronald Hollingsworth – directed by Hollingsworth and Sheron Cadogan-Taylor.
There are also two tragic types which engage serious social conflicts – Her Story by Melinda Primo-Solomon,
