The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams opened the theatrical Production "Shame and Scandal" Thursday evening at the Philipsburg Cultural Center.
The play, which was written by Fabian Badejo and Directed by Earl Duzong, is centered on themes of incest, women’s abuse and gender equality. During her opening address the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of bringing across these sensitive issues and the steps being taken on St. Maarten to combat cases of incest and abuse. "I am just as excited as you are about this production tonight. I would firstly like to wish the writer, director and actors good luck in addition to thanking the audience for coming out and supporting a local theatrical production. This is a wonderful production on a serious issue; the issue of incest and how we can bring about awareness to the people of St. Maarten. We have a wonderful organization in the form of Safe Haven which provides support to victims of all kinds of domestic abuse and I am happy to hear that some of the proceeds of this play will go towards that organization," commented the Prime Minister.
The PM continued by stating that one of the best ways to do bring a message across is through art; "While this serious message is being brought across we can enjoy fine acting and a nice evening out. Knowing most of the actors here this evening I am sure that this production will not only be a success with regards to attendance, but will also be successful in bringing the message across," concluded the Prime Minister