Oliver Samuels starring in comeback comedy series Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

Jamaican cultural icon Oliver Samuels is making a comeback to the stage with his new work, ‘Oliver Back a Yaad’.

The play is a reboot of his popular ‘Oliver at Large’ series which catapulted him to international fame as a one-of-a-kind comedic talent.

The actor, director, producer and playwright told JIS News in an interview that the series is a legacy project to celebrate his 50 years in theatre.

“Ever since the success of Oliver at Large, which was mainly written by Patrick Brown, the desire and the expressed views of the Jamaican population was for something like that again, or the wish that it could have been continued,” he said.

More than 20 years since its debut in the early 1990s, the original comedy series is widely regarded as a Jamaican cultural classic.

Again written by Brown, the reboot of the popular sitcom was the brainchild of himself and Samuels.

“We got Patrick Brown, who is the foremost comedy writer in Jamaica, to agree to write some of the scripts. And so, our first four scripts of ‘Oliver Back a Yaad’ are written by Patrick Brown. We hope that people will just gravitate to it and be nostalgic and go online and purchase them,” said Samuels.

He added that the production’s release during Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations is significant, as it represents his contribution to the development of local theatre.

“I want this to penetrate the millennials and give them a sense of pride, a sense of belonging and feeling that they are Jamaicans. All the material is clean fun, but with expressions in it, with proverbs in it, and real musical Jamaican language. Throughout the diaspora, I want these episodes to continue to teach those persons who left here long ago and are still very proud of Jamaica and proud of their culture, to continue to use this material to teach their children who were born (elsewhere) to have a sense of our language,” said Samuels.

Other notable members of the Jamaican cast are Glen ‘Titus’ Campbell, Sharee McDonald-Russell, Courtney Wilson, and Deon Silvera. The sitcom comprises 10 episodes.

The project has been endorsed by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, and is being developed by First In Line Plus Production Company Limited.

Filming of ‘Oliver Back A Yaad’ commenced in Kingston in December 2021, with the first four episodes being completed in six months.

The reboot is being exclusively streamed on www.firstinlineplus.online for US$9.99 for a one-month subscription.

Born in St Mary, Samuels is one of the most well-known and respected talents of Jamaican theatre.

He appeared in several other productions, including Ras Noah and the Hawk, Cinderellisha and DJ Prince, River Bottom, Assistant Thief, Puppy Love, Smile Orange, Countryman, and The Mighty Quinn, which starred Denzel Washington.

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