In August, Debra Ehnhardt’s Jamaica, Farewell only ran for five days at the Theatre Place, in New Kingston. Despite the fact that the format of the play was new to the Jamaican audience, all six performances were sold out. Now Bamboo Grove Productions has brought the play back to Jamaica and this time it will have a one month run with 15 shows in Kingston, one show in Mandeville and two shows in Montego Bay.

Jamaica, Farewell is a 90-minute one woman autobiographical show that speaks to Debra Ehrhardt’s journey to the USA from Jamaica in the turbulent 1970s, is a hilarious and touching story of how one young woman risked everything in order to fulfil her lifelong dream of starting over in America. This funny show is a wild roller coaster ride of suspense, intrigue, seduction, humour and manipulation. After successful runs in London, Toronto, New York and Kingston, Ehrhardt brings her thrilling tale back to where it all began, for a second run.

Ehrhardt will begin her second stint this Wednesday, November 10 at the Theatre Place in New Kingston with five performances per week for three weeks. The play will now run Wednesday’s to Saturdays at 8pm and on Sundays at 7 pm. The run in Kingston will end on November 28. Jamaica, Farewell will then move to Manchester for one show only at the Cecil Charlton Auditorium on Friday December 3. The one-woman play will then close off its one month run with two shows in Montego Bay on Saturday December 4 and Sunday December 5 at the Fairfield Theatre.

Ehrhardt has been pleasantly surprised by the reception the play has gotten in Jamaica, she explains: “Before we decided to bring the play home some believed that it could not be. Well, we have done it and our first run in August was great with Jamaicans from all walks of life coming to see the play and really enjoying it. This second run will last for almost a month as we are trying to reach many more. We got so many requests from persons who called and emailed us clamouring for us to bring it back, so here it is and I am really excited to be coming back”.

Jamaica, Farewell has been growing in popularity internationally. The play premiered at the Hackney Empire in London in September of 2008, and had an eight-week off-Broadway run at the Soho Playhouse in New York in the Spring of 2009. In January of 2010, Rita Wilson, producer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, optioned the movie rights to Jamaica, Farewell with a full US tour of the play to open Spring 2011.