One of the leading plays in the 2015 National Drama Festival (NDF) was the new comedy Crack Jokes written and directed by a national Stand-Up Comedy Queen Odessa Primus. Out of several nominations it won four awards in the NDF, foremost among them being the second best full-length play in the open category. It was not surprising that it was soon to be independently produced on the open market where it was predicted to be a hit. This expectation was not so much because of its NDF success but because it is the type of play that would appeal to and thrill a popular audience. Over all of that, though, it made a number of statements as drama.
Crack Jokes was produced at the National Cultural Centre by Gem Madhoo-Nascimento for GEMS Theatre Company in collaboration with Primus’ Transformation Theatre. Billed as “the hilarious comedy of the year” it shone with stars including the 2015 NDF award winning Best Actor Kwasi Edmondson in the lead role as George and opposite him, the NDF 2015 Best Actress and previous multiple award winner Nuriyyih Gerrard as his daughter Desirée.
They were supported by a virtual galaxy who, together, earned the play the award of Best Performing Cast in the NDF. That prize spoke to the way the cast not only performed well, but performed as a team and a unified group. Indeed, the
