Viva Detroit
By Derek Walcott
Year staged: 1992
Opening night: 11/02/1992
Theatre Company: Black Theatre Co-operative; 1979
Staged in: The Tricycle Theatre, latterly The Kiln Theatre
Cast Size: 4
Synopsis
At an idyllic beach resort in St Lucia, tourists enjoy paradise, while indigenous St Lucians are forced to provide it. Sonny’s trade is prostitution to wealthy white tourists, by playing characters he thinks would fit their fantasy. His pay is in jewels and gifts. One day, while acting as a businessman from Detroit, his bluff is called by Pat, a wealthy white American woman who has just purchased property in St Lucia. As they learn of each other’s true identity, love and betrayal await, as power dynamics develop between them reminiscent of tourism’s relationship with St Lucia itself.
Original Cast
Norman Beaton
Doc
Marlena Mackey
Pat
Steve Toussaint
Sonny
Norman Beaton
Doc
Marlena Mackey
Pat
Steve Toussaint
Sonny
Production Team
Malcolm Frederick
Director
Larry Coke
Lighting
Salandy Clary
Designer / Costume
Malcolm Frederick
Director
Larry Coke
Lighting
Salandy Clary
Designer / Costume
Additional Materials
Programme
Ref: BCA/Ephemera/193
Black Cultural Archives
Tour File
Ref: NTC/P/T/1/24/1/001
Future Histories - Black Performance and Carnival Archive
Posters (A3)
Ref: NTC/P/T/1/24/2/001
Future Histories - Black Performance and Carnival Archive
Flyers
Ref: NTC/P/T/1/24/2/002
Future Histories - Black Performance and Carnival Archive
Programme
Ref: NTC/P/T/1/24/2/003
Future Histories - Black Performance and Carnival Archive
Playscript
Ref: NTC/P/T/1/24/3
Future Histories at Goldsmiths, University of London
Production Photographs
Ref: NTC/P/T/1/24/4
Future Histories - Black Performance and Carnival Archive
Video Recording
Ref: NTC/P/T/1/24/5
Future Histories - Black Performance and Carnival Archive
Press Reviews
Ref: NTC/P/T/3/019
Future Histories - Black Performance and Carnival Archive
Display Photographs
Ref: THM/317/5/2/28
V&A Theatre and Performance Collection
Production Photographs
Ref: THM/317/5/1/97
V&A Theatre and Performance Collection