the cell theatre
presents
Readings at the cell
From the familiar to the surprising, a monthly series of fiction, poetry, graphic novels and written or spoken word.
The Blackboard Reading Series
Telling stories of the Black Community throughout the Diaspora, creating an Arts community of our own. Every 2nd Monday of the month, 7:30pm at the cell. A 20 minute talk back will follow every reading. As always, donations are greatly appreciated. For submission information contact blackboardreadingseries@gmail.com
For more Information: www.blackboardplays.com
“Bonfire Night” by Joan BakerThe story takes place on the 5th of November, 1968. An incendiary night literally and figuratively. It is the night that Britons everywhere burn Guy Fawkes in effigy. The real meaning for the festivities has been long lost, and instead the night is an excuse for revelry of every kind. The air is filled with smoke and sulfur and a strange excitement. There is expectancy in the air, as if anything could transpire at any given moment.
It is against this backdrop that we meet Cynthia Johnson a 50-year old sharp tongued and cantankerous nurse and her homely underachieving 30 year-old daughter Lorna. These transplanted Jamaicans live out their lives by following a series of strict routines. There is bitterness and hurt just below the surface that neither wishes to address. Though they are tired of their routine they find comfort in it’s familiarity.
During the course of the play, the Johnsons are visited first by Erma Richards, the elderly local pardoner, who offers micro loans to members of the community and Reggie Brown a middle-aged bus driver and suitor to Lorna who offers her a last chance for romance and escape from her mother. Sensing that the only person she has left is about to forsake her, Cynthia takes action to put an end to the coupling.
About the playwright:
Joan Baker holds a BA (Hons) in Drama and Sociology from Liverpool John Moores University, and a MA in Literature and Creative Writing from Long Island University. There she completed her first feature length screenplay THICKER THAN MUD. She is the recipient of a Content Short Award from the Black Programming Consortium’s “Prized Pieces” competition for her short film THE PROMISED LAND which she co-produced with Third World Newsreel. The film, which looks at the migration of families from the Caribbean to the UK and the United States in search of a better life enjoyed a lengthy festival run and is currently screened in schools, colleges, and art galleries. She went on to write, produce and direct her second film JANE based on her short story of the same name. While working with the Living The Dream Theatre Company, she directed the play DATE RAPE which was performed at the Theatre for the New City, New York. Joan is currently writing a series of one act plays and putting the finishing touches on her second feature length screenplay THE RETIREMENT PLAN.
- September 8, 2008 – Stranger in My Body, by Garlia Cornelia Jones
- October 13, 2008 – Friendly Fire, by Aurin Squire
- November 10, 2008 – Community Evening (Your Works-In-Progress!)
- December 8, 2008 – High Five, by Angela Hanks
- January 12, 2008 – Bonfire Night, by Joan Baker
