‘Tribute to Trevs’ Wednesday at Little Theatre

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport is partnering with the family of late theatre doyen, Trevor Nairne, to stage a cultural tribute in his honour on Wednesday, June 1, at the Little Theatre in Kingston beginning at 6:30 p.m. with cocktails in the Theatre Courtyard.

Some of theatre’s leading performance groups and individuals are listed to pay respects to a man they all regarded as one of the best theatre practitioners to emerge out of the Jamaican crucible since Independence. These include the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC), Ashe, L’ACADCO, Stalla Maris, Dance Theatre Xaymaca, Quilt, Wolmer's Dance Troupe, and Tivoli Dance Troupe. A tribute will also come from theatre contemporaries Fae Ellington, Ruth Hoshing and Grace McGhie, doing a special reading.

The music fraternity will also be well represented with tributes in song from Dean Fraser, Dr Curtis Watson, Alaine, Sharee Elise and Keisha Patterson. A performance tribute will also come from the Jambiz Team, with an excerpt from Patrick Brown’s DIANA, featuring Glen Campbell, Courtney Wilson and Melissa Vassell. A special tribute will also be done by faculty and students of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, an institution which he served for several years.

Culture Minister Olivia Grange will lead a set of spoken-word tributes, which will include tributes from several of Nairne’s theatre colleagues, the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, his Jambiz Family and the Centerstage Theatre Workshop.

Patrons wishing to attend the cultural tribute are asked to note that though there will not be a charge for admission, the event will be a ticketed one. As such only persons with tickets will be allowed entry. Given the high demand only a few tickets are still available for the general public. These tickets are now being distributed (no more than two per person) at the Little Theatre on a first come, first serve basis between the hours of noon and 5 p.m.

In paying tribute to Nairne recently, actress and playwright Dahlia Harris stated: “I would fondly call him ‘Trevs’ or ‘Missa Nears’ and that would be the start of conversations at least two hours long about theatre, social issues, whatever I was studying at UWI, sport. That was Trevor, he was invested in helping you to become a better version of yourself, a version that sometimes you couldn’t even imagine. I used to joke that Trevor and I get along fine unless he’s directing me. He wouldn’t allow me to get away with just being okay with a performance, he would push me to deliver the standard he knew I was capable of and I will always be grateful. Every single show I’ve ever mounted, I called on Trevor whenever I hit a roadblock and he responded, didn’t matter what he was doing, didn’t matter what the nature of the problem was, he would come and find a solution. My very first show, he left his own production to come and help me dress the stage. He was always honest. Once he’d seen my productions he would call, make his notes and then I would go see him. He could start our conversation with 'I didn’t like it', and I wouldn’t be offended. I knew what would come next would be a long session of question and answer, lots of arguing, but always towards the improvement of the show. I will miss that the most. Knowing that in him I would always find someone who had my back in an industry that is not always easy to navigate. An artistic genius, a true friend, mentor, such a blessing to us all.”

The renowned producer and director died on May 6. He was 73.