Reviews

Patrick Brown to make us laugh again
"CINDY-RELISHA and the DJ Prince"
opens Boxing Day

Over the last 10 years Patrick Brown has put more comedic lines in the mouths of Jamaican actors than any other Jamaican writer.

Brown was responsible for most of the episodes of the two "Oliver" TV series, and he also created and penned all the episodes of the local TV sitcom "Titus In Town" (with Glen Campbell in the title role) and the soon to be aired TVJ sitcom "Tiny's Place" (with Claudette Pious in the title role).

On stage Brown has consistently rolled out the laughs with hit after hit including Puppy Love, Dirty Diana, Hurricane Lovers, Oliver & Pinocchio, Breadfruit Kingdom, Oliver's Posse and Oliver & the Genie.

Brown now gives us the Jamaican musical comedy "Cindy-Relisha & the DJ Prince" which has its world premier at the Centerstage Theatre in New Kingston on Boxing Day (December 26) at 5pm.

The funny lines this time around have been entrusted to some of our leading actors, who themselves have given us many memorable moments on stage, on TV and on the bigger screen including Glen "Titus" Campbell, Claudette "Ms. Tiny" Pious, Christopher "Johnny" Daley, Winston "Bello" Bell, and Dahlia Harris. The "Cindy-Relisha" cast also includes teenaged acting sensation Donisha Prendergast in the title role.

In "Cindy-Relisha" Brown takes artistic license and Jamaicanizes the classic fairy tale. The title character is a typical young Jamaican girl, who is being abused by her 2 ugly sisters (Claudette Pious and Dahlia Harris) and her wicked stepfather (Winston "Bello" Bell). In true fairy tale style Cindy is rescued by the DJ Prince, albeit in the persona of a bashment Jamaican dancehall DJ (played by Glen Campbell). All in all a true slice of authentic Jamaican comedy artistically crafted into a truly enthralling theatrical master piece, embellished by the music and dance moves of "everyday" Jamaica.

This award-winning writer who has won many accolades including several Actor Boy awards and who recently gained international recognition by copping a prestigious award in the Cynosure Screen Writing competition in Los Angeles, is really a civil engineer by profession. However he often states "I much prefers to create people rather than creating buildings". And what an interesting and hilarious set of characters he has created in this truly intriguing Jamaican fairy tale … Cindy-Relisha and the DJ Prince.