Foreword: A letter from Kingston

Summary

Dear Martin

This comes to you from Kingston, Jamaica, which has been aptly described as a clone of Lagos, Nigeria, a city that you may remember! It would not surprise you therefore to learn that The Beatification of Area Boy is being reincarnated in these parts, but the ramifications will surely stretch your imagination. Since you were very much involved in bringing that play to Leeds, I thought you might like some news of its latest adventures, which are the result of an exchange programme between Emory University and the University of West Indies. Wedged in between the two, as initiator and facilitator for the specific undertaking, is a production company known simply as The Company Ltd. It is not a theatre company but a group of ‘enthusiastic volunteers’ who periodically organise theatre practitioners – mostly amateur and semi-professional – into a production. Yes, I think that is an accurate way of describing the process: just as in Nigeria, there is no full-time theatre professionalism in Jamaica.

It is a long haul from Leeds where you helped so generously to facilitate the production of Beatification by the West Yorkshire Playhouse, not forgetting the further assistance you rendered to one of the actors who could not return to Nigeria after the performances on account of his prominent role in the production. Kingston is much closer to the birthplace of Beatification than Leeds, and I had looked forward to making up for the disappointment of not having its premiere take place in Lagos, its true milieu.