by Howard Campbell
LAUDERHILL – The local grocery or corner shop are staples of the Jamaican countryside. Not only do these outlets provide food, they usually act as scenes for neighborhood drama.
Actor/playwright Ricky Rowe, who grew up in rural Jamaica, was inspired by such scenes for Four Bulla An’ A Patty, his hit comedy/play which shows June 29 at Lauderhill Performing Arts Center.
It is set in Belle Castle, which is also the name of his home district in Portland parish, eastern Jamaica. Typical of those communities, it has a dominant figure named Mr. John, played by Charles Tomlin, who is owner of the local grocery, an elected official and Justice of The Peace.
Rowe, who plays Romeo, believes Jamaicans in the Diaspora are always happy to see plays like Four Bulla An’ A Patty which he wrote in 2007 while living in The Netherlands.
“If we look at what happened during the (Covid-19) pandemic, persons were not allowed to gather and even now people are still not as comfortable getting back into the venues. The Internet is taking over, not that it’s a bad thing, but there’s nothing like a live performance,” he said.
Four Bulla An’ A Patty Co-Stars
Rowe also directs the play which co-stars Vanessa Dixon as Tamara, Nadine Brady Taylor as Trudy, Gracie-Ann Watson as Miss Joyce and Malachi Smith as Marshall. Four Bulla An’ A Patty is drawn from his youth in Portland, a lush region that was once Jamaica’s leading banana producer.
It has shown in the United Kingdom and Jamaica to packed houses. Of all the plays he has been involved in since making his stage debut nearly 30 years ago, Four Bulla An’ A Patty is special to Rowe.
“I want people no matter where they are from to see this production, I have other shows but this one for some reason just always keeps repeating itself. I think maybe it’s the story, the characters and also the fact that it represents my upbringing growing up in the country,” he said.
