The Tobago Drama Guild brought its production of its hit play Blood Money to Canada on July 27 and 28, 2022. Staged at the Consulate General of Trinidad and Tobago in Toronto, the show drew capacity crowds both nights.
Blood Money is playwright Cherryll Birchwood Uzoruo’s latest offering to the theater world. It’s a gripping tale of ill-gotten gains and its karmic impact within a small, tight-knit community. Imaginatively directed by THABITI, the multi-talented cast gloriously managed all the dramatic twists and turns in a story that was accompanied by instantly infectious music, folklore-inspired song and dance and a spoken word group prologue.
“It was a great experience and that’s quite a proverbial understatement,” said Birchwood Uzoruo. “Most of the cast and crew are making their debut on a Canadian stage. This was always a dream of my husband, THABITI, and I embraced the idea of a cultural exchange between the homeland, Trinidad and Tobago, and the adopted space of many, Canada. We value love, understanding the multi-layered complexity of messages. The transition from text to presentation to an appreciative audience in Canada has renewed my faith in the value of the work and its claim as a teaching tool and insight into society. Thank you all for the collective sharing and community spirit. My gratitude goes to Acting Consul General Tracey Ramsubagh-Mannette for the generous support of the Consulate and of course, the cast and crew of both spaces, without whom the work would not have been possible.”
About the Tobago Drama Society
Formed in 1999, The Tobago Drama Guild (TTDG), Tobago’s leading theater training company, is a not-for-profit organization registered with the Ministry of Culture and the Arts Tourism and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transport of the House of Tobago. Assembly. Its mandate is to use theater arts as a tool to help and encourage youth self-expression, molding them into well-rounded citizens of the twin island nation and making them employable in the field of culture through certification. TTDG was awarded the US Congressional Community Service Award during its 2015 New York tour and received the Tobago Silver Medal of Honor for long and meritorious service to Tobago in the field of Culture and the Arts in 2019. They continue to fulfill the mandate their to ensure that Tobago creatives in their organization have the opportunity to hone and present their talents internationally.
