End of the line for ‘Beef’

The play’s portrayal of crime, corruption and change couched in the satiric high comedy of Walcott has kept audiences riveted nightly for the some 30 performances to date. Patrons have equated the play’s action with contemporary events on the Trinidad and Tobago socio-political scene.

Beef No Chicken derives its humour from a series of comic plot twists as characters are romanced with the idea of the modern marvels that the construction of a new highway through Couva will bring to the district.

The backdoor machinations of the mayor, the contractor and the narcissistic school master suggest such modernisation also brings crime, corruption and other negative social development.

The only character who foresees the doom to the good old ways is the play’s “hero” Otto, played by veteran comic Glenn Davis, who refuses to be bought by the powers that be, though the walls of his auto mechanic and authentic roti shop literally crumble around him.

This experiment by the TTW in introducing this play as the first of an open-ended theatre season in Trinidad is being delivered by a cast of new and experienced actors and actresses under the direction of Cacique-award winner Mervyn De Goeas.

Written in 1978, Beef, No Chicken was first staged at the Little Carib Theatre in 1981. It was published in 1986.

Its universal themes and clever word play have since delighted audiences in the United Kingdom, the United States and the Caribbean.

One London critic described it as “a comic elegy to a disappearing Trinidad, while another, writing in the Financial Times found favour with the “enjoyable characters, peppery dialogue.” Tickets are available at the TTW, 23 Jerningham Avenue, Port-of-Spain and early bookings are advised.