Holders Season 2007

Holders Season

Wendy Kidd is delighted to announce details of the Barbados Holders Season 2007. A watershed for Wendy – who now has sole responsibility for Holders House – the new Season contains all of the trade marks that have made the season such a hot-ticket over recent years.

With performances taking place on stages throughout the elegant grounds of the historic 17th century plantation house, the Season is headlined by one of the most loved and internationally successful lyricists of all time, Sir Tim Rice. Ably assisted by a company of musicians and artists from both Broadway and the West End, Sir Tim will host an evening that explores many of his worldwide hits for both stage and silver screen.

With a strong New York thread running through the 2007 Season, four other performances will also be coming direct from the Big Apple, Mozart’s immaculate opera Cosi fan tutte being staged by a company and orchestra of top young talents, the showbiz side of New York also being shown to fabulous effect by jazz/blues singer André de Shields who brings Black by Popular Demand to the Season – “Mr. De Shields‘ show is so polished that it absolutely glitters. The entire evening clicks with precision. It is a performance of action, energy and intense involvement, done with a laugh and a sly smile.”

Theatre and comedy also feature large in the Season with international – and Holders – favourites, The Reduced Shakespeare Company bringing their latest irreverend abridgement Complete Hollywood – for two performances at the Season. In similar comic mood, the Season is also proud to announce a brand new international collaboration, the premiere of the Anglo-Barbadian Gale Theatre Company (patrons Imogen Stubbs and Sir Trevor Nunn) in a new production featuring both Barbadian and British actors in two performances of Noel Coward’s uproarious Blithe Spirit.

Local performers will be appearing in a number of Holders’ shows, the international mix in 2007 including artists from USA, Canada, UK and Zimbabwe – the season opens on Tuesday 13th of March with a performance by the life affirming Black Umfolosi from Zimbabwe who will be bring traditional African song and dance – including the hugely popular ‘gumboot’ dancing – to the Holders stage.

With a number of surprises also guaranteed, Wendy Kidd is genuinely looking forward to the 2007 Season. “Year on year it has given me so much pleasure to see so much that is of such quality happening in the gardens of the house, and to see both our local and international audiences growing. With so much attention on the Caribbean because of the cricket world cup I really hope that this year will see the Season take another giant step forward.”

The Holders Season is supported principally by the Barbados Tourism Authority, The National Cultural Foundation and Virgin Atlantic.