“In the streets it 's getting hot, And the youths dem a get so cold…” are the famous lyrics of Reggae sensation, Richie Spice, that pivots around writer and director, Ian Strachan’s Gun Boys Rhapsody. It is one of Ringplay and Ceibo productions’ latest and most heart-wrenching dramas. It provides a host of parody, humor and tragedy on a fictional Caribbean society, I-Land. Strachan dedicates the theatrical piece to his former student of C.I Gibson, Marcian Scott, who was brutally brought to his demise in his driveway by a convict out on bail, in 2006. Gun Boys Rhapsody investigates the impact of crime and violence on the youth of the Bahamian society. It is centered around the murder of a high school student named TK and the chain reaction it has on the lives of other individuals linked to him. As a result of this production I am positive …show more content…
The drama begins with the actor (Odarion also known as OD) giving an insight about his tragic death, preparing the audience for the devastation that lie ahead. It seems to be that gang relations are the only forms of social connectivity that we engage in. As a result, youth are the “hot topic”in headlines of the local newspaper – “ Nineteen Year Old Male Gun Down!”. No longer are we able to settle disputes as civilized individuals, but rather resort to violence. Violence and social decay have become realities on our Bahama island, where chaos and greed have consumed a generations people who have little hope left. Perhaps the strongest character in the play is the politician, played by Chigozie Ijeoma, whose character is mindless and corrupted by overbearing pressure by society and he finds himself trapped within a system built on bribery and temptation. Strachan captures the inner workings of our small communities as they implode in decay, incest, single-parenthood and explode in rape, violence and exploitation. Moreover, all because we have come to the point where there is no longer the ability to empathize with our