THE RITUAL by Zeno Obi Constance
directed by Melody Brooks, associate director Shykia Fields
with: Zakiya Baptiste, Janelle Clayton, Angela Fraser, Nadege Matteis, Cassandra Ogbozor

“…the girls in THE RITUAL remind us that we mustn’t underestimate young people; while at the same time, we must take responsibility for what they reflect back to us.” nytheatre.com

It’s Friday morning, first period at Senior Secondary School in Trinidad and Omega is pregnant. Through “ritual” portrayals of the world around them her friends, five students, come to understand that the real key to empowerment lies within them. The play is highly stylized—each actor plays one of the girls as well as members from their community—lecherous taxi drivers; sanctimonious bourgeois; attractive Rasta boys; pompous judges and frightened parents.

New Perspectives Theatre Company and Banana Boat Productions are reprising their acclaimed production of this ground-breaking play to celebrate its 40th Anniversary. It earned Mr. Constance both fame and notoriety when it was cut from Trinidadian national television in 1979 in mid-broadcast due to its themes, and the characters’ treatment of the societal forces that work against them.

New Perspectives Studio
458 W. 37th Street, Ground Floor@ 10th Ave
New York, NY 10018