‘Fire in December’ brings Sam Sharpe to Little Theatre

The winning script from the LASCO Chin Foundation’s 2025 Scriptwriting Competition is moving from page to stage this October. Writer and director David Tulloch’s Fire in December opens at The Little Theatre in Kingston for a seven-day run.

From October 5–11, Fire in December will be presented across 21 performances, with three shows daily, bringing to the stage a powerful Jamaican story centred on National Hero Sam Sharpe and the events surrounding the 1831 Christmas Rebellion.

The production marks an important next chapter for a script first recognised through the LASCO Chin Foundation’s initiative to support Jamaican writing and creative expression. Having emerged as the competition’s winning work in 2025, Fire in December is now moving into professional production and will be presented to Jamaican audiences at one of the country’s best-known theatrical venues.

“ Fire in December emerged from a competition hosted by the LASCO Foundation, where the script was awarded the winning prize. That recognition affirmed the power and relevance of the story,” David Tulloch sad.

He explained that, when coupled with the noticeable lack of information about Sam Sharpe within our present cultural atmosphere, he “felt a responsibility to bring his story to the stage”.

Heroes Day is celebrated during the month of October. It is observed annually on the third Monday of October and falls on October 19 this year.

“Its October staging is particularly significant. Opening during the period in which Jamaica commemorates its National Heroes, the production invites audiences – particularly a new generation of Jamaicans – to encounter Sharpe, not simply as a figure from the past, but as a man whose leadership and actions helped shape the country’s future, a press release stated.

Tulloch shared that the play not only honours Sam Sharpe, it also seeks to “humanise him, explore the courage behind his sacrifice, and ensure that a new generation understands the extraordinary price paid for our freedom”.

Fire in December centres on Sharpe and the resistance that culminated in the Christmas Rebellion of 1831, one of the defining events in Jamaica’s journey towards Emancipation. The production places audiences inside that history, using live performance to explore courage, sacrifice, resistance and the pursuit of freedom.

“The LASCO Chin Foundation’s Scriptwriting Competition was created to provide a platform for Jamaican stories and the talented people who tell them,” president, LASCO Chin Foundation, Professor Rosalea Hamilton, said.

“To now see Fire in December move from a winning script to a full stage production is exactly the kind of journey we want to encourage. This is more than recognition of a writer’s work; it is about creating opportunities for Jamaican stories to reach audiences, while helping a new generation engage with the people and events that have shaped our nation,” she added.

The production is also placing a strong emphasis on student access to live theatre and Jamaican history. Organised school groups will be able to attend at a special student group rate, while the production’s Sponsor A Student initiative allows individuals, companies and diaspora supporters to sponsor students to experience the play.

Fire in December is produced by Innovative Enterprises Limited and Probemaster Entertainment, in association with the LASCO Chin Foundation.