Jamaican playwright, screenwriter and Rose Bruford College graduate Trevor Rhone (right) accepts a fellowship award at the college in London, recently - Contributed

Leading Jamaican playwright and screenwriter Trevor Rhone has been awarded a Fellowship by his alma mater, Rose Bruford College - the London-based institution which is one of the country's leading drama schools and which provides degree courses and training in theatre and performing arts.

With his trip sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, Rhone travelled to the United Kingdom (U.K.) in early October 2007 to visit the school and accept his Fellowship from the college, where he studied in the 1960s under Rose Bruford herself.

In a story on its website, the college reported as follows: "To mark his Fellowship, the college also staged an abridged version of (Rhone's) play Bellas Gate Boy, which tells about his time spent at Rose Bruford College. The play was performed in the college's Barn Theatre by three of the college's recent alumni and directed by fellow Rose Bruford graduate, Yvonne Brewster, who auditioned Trevor when he first applied to the college and who worked with Trevor to set up the Barn Theatre in Kingston, named after the one where they had both begun their careers.

Tribute performance

"The Fellowship ceremony and tribute performance of the play was attended by current students, graduates, friends and leading members of the industry, including Rudolph Walker, OBE, who was one of the first black actors to be seen regularly on British TV - first in Love Thy Neighbour and, currently, as Patrick Trueman in Eastenders. Rudolph travelled to the U.K. from the Caribbean on the same boat as Trevor in 1960, and they have been friends ever since.

"The ceremony was preceded by a rum punch drinks reception outside the Barn Theatre, with music by some of the college's actor musicians and music technology students. Trevor is probably best known outside Jamaica for co-writing the screenplay for The Harder They Come, the gritty drama of a country boy (played by Jimmy Cliff) who dreams of making it as a singer in Kingston. Other credits include Smile Orange, Milk and Honey - winner of the 1989 Toronto Film Festival Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay - and 2003 Cannes Film Festival favourite, One Love.

"Trevor was recently voted third in the international top 100 Black Screen Icons Poll, above Spike Lee and Morgan Freeman. On receiving his Fellowship and seeing the adaptation of Bellas Gate Boy, Trevor said: "I am extremely honoured. It has been a very emotional experience coming back to the college after so long. I was extremely touched and moved seeing the performance of Bellas Gate Boy and I would like to congratulate Yvonne and the cast."