This work investigates the development of the Trinidad Theatre Workshop and the challenges inherent in establishing a professional, world-class theatre ensemble within a post-colonial West Indian context. Bruce King, a scholar of post-colonial literature and drama, utilizes extensive interviews with Nobel laureate Derek Walcott to document the evolution of the company. The text argues that Walcott’s efforts were driven by a specific ambition to create a Caribbean equivalent to the Brechtian Berliner Ensemble, thereby asserting the legitimacy and artistic significance of West Indian drama on the global stage.

Scholars and theatre historians identify this text as a foundational resource for understanding the institutional history of Caribbean performance. The book is frequently cited for its rigorous documentation of Walcott’s administrative and artistic struggles during the mid-twentieth century.