Dahlia Harris returns with Thicker Than Water
FRESH on the heels of an Actor Boy Award for her 2012 production God’s Way 2, actress, playwright, director and theatre producer Dahlia Harris is at it again.
The curtains for her latest production, Thicker Than Water, open Friday at Stages Theatreplex on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston.
Thicker Than Water features an all-female cast and explores the troublesome bond between siblings against a backdrop of workplace conflict.
Harris says the idea for the play came from an amalgamation of experiences.
“I like to explore things people speak about, or experience, but do not like to take on. Thicker Than Water comes from listening to women speak about their experiences with other women in the corporate world as well as my own. All these experiences have been merged into the characters in the play,” she says.
Harris further explains that she is not trying to solve Earth’s problems with her productions, but hopes to provide food for thought.
“I always hope the subject matter will intrigue my audience and when they come, sit and watch, they will be entertained and hopefully reflect on what they see on stage.”
The cast comprises Harris, Suzette Barrett, Shawna-Kae Burns, Monique Smith and journalist Janella Precius.
Harris spoke about assembling the cast.
“The biggest challenge has been to take the diversity of these five personalities and blend them to see a common vision,” she says.
Barrett — who recently won an Actor Boy Award for her supporting role in Stanley, Fae, Pularchie & P — Burns, Smith and Harris, all have commercial theatre experience. Precius, who is known to Jamaicans as a television news anchor, is the cast’s ‘newbie’. She is a theatre buff and has had experience as part of the University Dramatic Arts Society while she was a student at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
“When I thought of the flair and sophistication required by that character I immediately thought of Janella and she agreed to join the cast,” Harris explains.
Thicker Than Water is centred on Kimberly Thorpe, whose recent promotion sets off a chain of events that threaten to undermine her company’s best interests. An old mentor is determined to make her fail, her best friend is the unruly sub-ordinate and the new kid is also sabotaging her efforts. At the same time, she tries to control her fractious sister.
Kimberly learns that the real struggle is not just getting to the top; it’s trying to stay there.
