Dr. Travis Weekes, Theatre Coordinator at the University of the West Indies and Artistic Director of TÉYAT KARAIBE, is currently in Martinique conducting a two‑week intensive theatre workshop with Martiniquan actors David Erbel and Syringa Jean‑Baptiste. The rehearsals are being held at Tropiques Atrium, where Weekes is serving as Director in Residence.
The workshop centers on Weekes’ acclaimed Caribbean historical drama Take Me To Mon Repos, which has been successfully staged in Florida, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. In 2024, the play was published in English and Kwéyòl with the support of the Campus Research and Publication Fund, UWI, Saint Augustine. Weekes is also in discussions with Martiniquan cultural officials about mounting the production in Martinique and Saint Lucia, with plans underway to develop a film adaptation.
Set in 1794 Saint Lucia, Take Me To Mon Repos dramatizes the collision of love, resistance, and colonial power. The story follows Bwigan, a runaway slave determined to burn down plantations, and Bernelle, the woman he loves but cannot free. Their struggle unfolds against the ambitions of Garnier, a French Royalist planter, and Catherine, his abolitionist wife and poet, who is a member of “Friends of the Blacks.” The production explores themes of identity, memory, creolization, and the longing for peace embodied in the name Mon Repos — “My Peace.”
During the workshop, David Erbel is training for the role of Garnier, while Syringa Jean‑Baptiste is developing the character of Catherine.