“I Have No Son: Rico’s Story”, A Barbadian Drama Based On Real Events

The Caribbean Cytometry & Analytical Society Team

The HIV charity, CCAS, is producing a play entitled “I Have No Son: Rico’s Story”, a Barbadian drama based on real events. The cast is headed by Andrew Pilgrim and includes Amanda Cumberbatch, Ishiaka McNeil, Tamara Hurley, Marcus Myers, and Ayesha Gibson. Screenplay and direction is by Dyrstra Brown.

In “I Have No Son: Rico’s Story”, CCAS has created an entertaining narrative that follows the roller-coaster life story of Rico, a vulnerable young UWI graduate finding his way in the business world while falling into mistakes in his relationships that have exposed him to HIV. Without giving away too much of the plot, the title of the play reflects the attitude of Rico’s mother when she learns her son has contracted HIV. Rico’s apparently far-fetched encounters are based on patient interviews conducted at the Barbados HIV Clinic and his story is therefore an accurate parable for our times.

The author, Andre Greenidge, Communications Director of CCAS and himself a Ph.D. student at Cave Hill, has deliberately crafted the story to cover all areas of HIV/AIDS education where misinformation flourishes: how HIV is transmitted (and just as importantly how it cannot be transmitted), how HIV is diagnosed, what treatment is available in Barbados, how HIV is no longer a death sentence, how maternal transmission to babies can be eliminated, how HIV affects partners and families, and how society stigmatizes HIV/AIDS sufferers, driven mostly out of fear and ignorance. The play will dispel many myths along the way, starting with the common presumption that HIV is a death sentence, or that we should fear casual contacts with HIV/AIDS sufferers. At the end of the day, we want our audiences to laugh, to cry, and to learn.

The Play will take place in three performances between March 11-13 2011 at the Walcott- Warner Theatre, The Errol Barrow Centre for the Creative Imagination (EBCCI) on the Cave Hill campus. You can reserve your tickets with the CCAS secretary: 8367227, or purchase them from the following ticket outlets.

Ticket Outlets:

• CS Pharmacy, Bridgetown (No student tickets available)
• Ashbea, shop #72 Sheraton (Opposite Abeds)
• UWI Bookstore – Cave Hill Campus
• Prerna – Coconut Walk, Hastings
• NovelTeas – Bay Street, Worthing
• Emerald City – St. Philip

Ticket Prices:

• Fri 11th March – Gala Opening: $60
• Sat 12th March – $40 adults/$20 students (with ID)
• Sun 13th March- $40 adults/$20 students (with ID)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FLYER

“I Have No Son” has the backing of The National HIV/AIDS Commission, The Youth Commission, The Ministry of Education, The University of the West Indies HIV/AIDS Response Program, and The Ministry of Health. There are further plans to produce a film based on the play, as well as a book for distribution to all secondary schools.

The Caribbean Cytometry & Analytical Society

CCAS is a charitable organisation with an educational mandate to train professional HIV/AIDS care givers and to raise awareness about the disease in the Caribbean.

As professional trainers (having trained over 600 professional HIV/AIDS caregivers from 23 Caribbean countries), we feel we have a unique duty to bring accuracy and quality towards HIV/AIDS education. There is too much fear, confusion and misinformation abounding in society, which manifests in continuing risky sexual behaviour and severe stigmatization of HIV/AIDS sufferers. Even at present levels of transmission, the impact on Barbadian society is dramatic: HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death in the working age group 19 – 45. It is vitally important, not least from an economic perspective, that we reach the teenage and working age populations with accurate and culturally relevant health messages to cut preventable HIV/AIDS deaths and maintain patients healthy, productive and non-discriminated in the workplace.