Special Actor Boy honour for Oliver Samuels


The awards season is in full swing, and not to be left out of the spotlight, are local theatre productions.

Speaking at the official launch of this year's Actor Boy Awards, director of entertainment and culture in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports Sydney Bartley noted, "Excellence should not be an accident, but rather deliberately nurtured, seriously nourished, carefully crafted and then exhibited for the world to see, and be inspired."

Bartley was speaking against the background that this year's special honouree will be the king of Jamaican comedy, Oliver Samuels. The 17th staging of the Actor Boy Awards is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, at its new home, the Pantry Theatre Gardens in New Kingston.

Oliver Samuels currently walks the boards displaying his legendary comedic skills in Patrick Brown's River Bottom. Most famous for his role as a blustering, cantankerous trickster, Samuels has been bringing laughter to Jamaicans at home and abroad for nearly four decades. His career, however, is no laughing matter. Along with the 1980s television series Oliver at Large that brought him national attention, he has also starred in several plays, and has been in the cast of numerous films including The Mighty Quinn (starring Denzel Washington) and Almost Heaven.

Chairman of the awards committee, Nicole Brown, pointed out that it is indeed timely that Oliver is being honoured at this point in his career. "Oliver is one of the greatest comedic actors to come out of Jamaica. He has put acting and Jamaica on the map, and therefore this award is very well deserved."

Among the nominees in the 20 categories for the Actor Boy Awards are: Joseph and His Amazing Dream Coat, the sole nominee for Best Children Theatre; Nuff and Plenty, Joseph and His Amazing Dream Coat and Disco Inferno - Best Musical; River Bottom, Uptown Bangarang 2, Concubine, Love Game, The Strength of a Woman, Bedroom Farce - Best Comedy; Shebadda Comes to Town, Bangarang A Yard and Like Father like Son - Best Roots Play; Love Game, The Strength of A Woman, River Bottom and Uptown Bangarang 2 - Best New Jamaican Play; Glen Campbell, Christopher Daley and Maxwell Grant - Best Supporting Actor and Christopher McFarlane and Oliver Samuels - Best Actor in a lead role.

Best Actress nominees are Dahlia Harris, Audrey Reid, Ruth Ho Shing and Marguerite Newland, while those up for Best Director are Trevor Nairne, Patrick Brown, Jeffery Anderson Gunter, Michael Nicholson, Brian Heap, Winston Bell and Robert Clarke. For Best Production, Concubine, Strength of Woman, River Bottom, Disco Inferno. Best Special Effects, Nuff and Plenty and River Bottom. For Best Lighting Design, Disco Inferno, River Bottom, Up Town Bangarang, Joseph and His Amazing Dream Coat. For Best Set Design, Nuff and Plenty, River Bottom, Rose Slipe, Love Games, Disco Inferno and Strength of a Woman. For Best Costume Design, Nuff and Plenty, Joseph and His Amazing Dream Coat, The Strength of a Woman. For Best Choreography, Nuff and Plenty, Disco Inferno, Joseph and His Amazing Dream Coat. Best Original Songs, Nuff and Plenty, River Bottom. Best Original Score, Nuff and Plenty, River Bottom.