Renowned playwright and producer Trevor Rhone expressed deep gratitude after receiving the Norman Washington Manley Foundation’s Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts at a ceremony held at the Little Theatre in Kingston. Rhone, celebrated for his significant contributions to Jamaican theatre and screenwriting, reflected on the key influences and individuals who shaped his career.

Published Friday, October 11, 1996

Rhone is Norman Manley awardee

PLAYWRIGHT, PRODUCER and a master of Jamaican theatre, Trevor Rhone, is this year’s recipient of the Norman Washington Manley Foundation’s Award for Excellence in the Field of the Dramatic Arts.

At an awards ceremony held yesterday evening at the Little Theatre in Kingston, the foundation paid tribute to Mr Rhone’s contributions to theatre, public education and public entertainment.

The citation, read by Fae Ellington, traced Trevor Rhone’s involvement in the theatre from his early days as an actor in the national Pantomime, to his theatre studies in England in the 1960s, his return and the start of his writing career while still a teacher at the St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and eventually to his ’immense success’ as the writer of plays like Schools Out, Smile Orange and Old Story Time and as a screenwriter for such films as The Harder They Come and Milk and Honey.

The works of Trevor Rhone affirm that there is something to like, after all, in something that is quintessentially Jamaican, Ms Ellington read. The citation noted that Rhone’s plays always hold the promise of a new possibility; a new hope that transcends the failures and disappointments of our shared past.

Mr Rhone was previously the recipient of Jamaica’s Order of Distinction (OD) and a Gold Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica.

In his reply, he recalled all the ’signposts’ in his life that led him into the theatre, and paid tribute to all those who had helped him achieve success in this calling. Mr Rhone also called for all the forces in Jamaican theatre to unite and form a common association.

The Norman Washington Manley Foundation Award was established in 1969 to honour the memory of the late national hero for his years of excellent service to Jamaica.

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