One Night Only: ‘The Folks Who Live on the Hill’ Brings Nina Simone and Errol Barrow Face to Face on the CARIFESTA XV Stage

On Monday, 25 August, locals and visitors to Barbados will have the rare opportunity to witness a daring new work of theatre that places the island and its history in conversation with the wider Black world. ‘The Folks Who Live On the Hill’, written and directed by Matthew ‘Kupakwashe’ Murrell, will be staged at Combermere School Hall, Waterford, St. Michael, beginning at 7:00pm sharp. Doors open at 6:30pm, and admission is free.

The one-act play imagines an intimate, late-night encounter between two iconic figures: American jazz legend Nina Simone, exiled and searching for peace and Barbados’ first Prime Minister, The Right Excellent Errol Barrow, statesman and ‘Father of Independence.’ Set in the quiet of a secluded cottage in 1970s Barbados, the production weaves together music, memory, philosophy and silence to explore the burden of public life and the emotional cost of Black brilliance.

Matthew Murrell explains: “Caribbean theatre can reimagine history, not as dates and monuments, but as flesh-and-blood struggles with vulnerability, love and duty. By pairing Simone and Barrow, I aim to highlight the complexities of their friendship and how they navigate those challenges. Her exile from an abusive relationship - to finding comfort and solace in Barrow - and how he deals with her needs while balancing his duties for a new independent country.”

Murrell continues: “This is our opportunity to tell our own story, in our own words and way. I want to place Barbados in dialogue with the wider African diaspora, from the Caribbean to the United States and beyond. It’s about asking what it means to carry greatness, to wrestle with identity and to find humanity beneath the weight of being a symbol.”

A Festival Spirit

The timing of the production is no accident. With CARIFESTA celebrating the diversity and creativity of Caribbean people, ‘The Folks Who Live on the Hill’ offers a theatrical reflection of the same values. The play echoes the festival’s mission of unity and cultural storytelling by linking Caribbean identity with the global currents of Black consciousness.

Through its fictional encounter between Simone and Barrow, the drama highlights the Caribbean’s place in transatlantic struggles for liberation, as well as urgent themes such as mental health, addiction, artistic burnout, gender dynamics, and the sacrifices of leadership. In doing so, it confronts silences often left unspoken in Caribbean public life.

A Story that could only happen here

Grounded in the landscape of post-independence Barbados, the play is both a love letter to the Caribbean and a meditation on its contradictions. By imagining Simone’s vulnerability against Barrow’s stoic duty, the story challenges audiences to think about leadership, resilience and the emotional costs of greatness.

Minimalist in staging but rich in dialogue and atmosphere, ‘The Folks Who Live On The Hill’ is a uniquely Caribbean contribution to the global stage: intimate, poetic and politically charged.

For one night only, audiences are invited to experience a performance that resonates far beyond its setting; a work that honours the complexity of Caribbean memory while boldly placing Barbados at the centre of a wider cultural conversation.

The Performers

The production brings together two strikingly different performers whose talents meet at the crossroads of experience and ambition.

Andrew Pilgrim KC has been involved in the entertainment industry and in particular, acting for most of his life. In 1981, he represented Barbados at CARIFESTA in the performance of ‘In the Castle of My Skin’ by George Lamming. He acted in countless plays on local and regional stages including ‘Talk Tent’, ‘Man Talk’, ‘the Final Truth’, ‘Julius Caesar’.

Film credits include ‘The Kite Flyer’ and ‘Hit for Six’ with parts in the US soap opera ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ and most recently in the Netflix series ‘Outer Banks’. He has appeared on local and regional tv shows and radio plays, hosted his own tv show ‘Pilly Out Front’ aired regionally, and hosted his own radio show as a teenager on Rediffusion. He served as MC for the Headliner’s Tent and is a one-hit wonder with the soca song ‘My Macaroni Pie’.

His love for travel has taken him extensively throughout the African continent. He is currently president of the Harrison College School Board.

Letitia “Gabrielle Nicole” Christian, an award-winning multi-disciplinary young artist, embodies the energy of the next generation. A dancer, writer, actress, vocalist, and muralist, she has trained with some of Barbados’ most celebrated performers. Trained under the direction of Nala and the late Sonia Williams, she has starred in the productions of ‘Ti Jean and his Brothers’, ‘Echo in The Bone’ as well as the short films ‘Truth Revealed’ and ‘One Plus One Equals One.’ She is most recently known for her role of Mavis in Winston Farrell’s ‘House of Landship’. She has provided hooks and backing vocals for several singles and has written several advertisements and jingles including the St. James Parish Independence Committee’s RICH Jingle.

This award-winning dance student of the Youth Achieving Results Programme was dancing from the age of six under the guidance of Kelvin Carvalho and Tyrone Trotman. In her teens, she became the founder and choreographer of dance group HipHop Juvanylz. Letitia has had the opportunity to work with established dancers such as Geraldine Lynch and Olivia Hall and has choreographed several pieces for community groups. Her recent performances include Barbados’ Republic Day Celebrations, The Fish and Dragon Festival and the International Cricket Council’s Men’s T20 World Cup.

She has worked as a producer on the Caribbean Hot 30 Radio Show as well as with BEAT One: The Search and is a self-published author who has contributed to several magazines and blogs over the years.