Everton Dawkins - Contributed

Rural theatre received a boost recently, when playwright Everton Dawkins opened a new theatre in Ocho Rios to stage his latest production, Mr Ragga Ragga.

Mr Ragga Ragga, starring Chu Chu, Lemon, Billy, Yaw-Yaw, Sukky, Kirk and Dajah, opened December 5 at the Falcon Crest theatre and plays Fridays, Satur-days and Sundays.

It is believed to be the first time that a play is being staged over an extended period at the same venue, outside of Kingston and Montego Bay.

Rural theatre lovers have been accustomed to plays being staged for one night and, as such, Dawkins' effort might take some getting used to.

He is, however, undaunted and has pulled out all the stops to ensure that Mr Ragga Ragga is a success.

Hilarious hit comedies

"It's going to take some time, it won't happen overnight, but as soon as people realise what is happening and the news spread, I believe we will start having full houses every night," Dawkins told The Gleaner.

Dawkins started the Ocho Rios-based Dynamite Productions in August 1997 and has brought Jamaica and, indeed, the wider Caribbean and North America more than a dozen hilarious hit comedies, such as Man Fi Get Bun, The Girls Dem Sugar, It Wasn't Me, Mr Mention, Bad Mind, Passa Passa, More Passa Passa and Crazy Landlord.

Of Passa Passa, Dawkins said: "It is clear that Passa Passa has been the longest-running play in Jamaica's theatre history, being staged over 400 times over a two and half year period, from 2003 to 2005."

Sold out

Dawkins recalled the impact the show had on the audience in Miami in 2005, when they toured for three shows but ended up doing four instead.

"The shows for Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all sold out from as early as Thursday, and in the end we had to do an extra show on Monday. It wasn't advertised, yet it was still another sold-out perfor-mance," Dawkins recalled.

Mr Ragga Ragga, a real-life comedy, features a mix of experience and fresh talent.

One of the new faces, Kirk Codner, stars as Mr Ragga, a con artist who parades himself as a nice guy to impress Mercy, played by Antonette Chen.

In the end, Mr Ragga's true colours come to the fore and he is seen for what he really is.

Showtime is 8:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. on Sundays.