What’s your story, Jamaica?

After four sold-out, critically celebrated productions between 2022 and 2025, acclaimed Jamaican playwright and storyteller Debra Ehrhardt, in partnership with S Hotel Kingston, returns with the 5th Annual What’s Your Story, Jamaica? – a powerful, live storytelling competition that places real voices, real experiences, and real money at centre stage.

On Sunday, February 8, storytellers from across Jamaica will step into the spotlight in Kingston to compete for J$1,000,000 in cumulative prize money, sharing true, personal stories that entertain, move, and connect audiences in unforgettable ways.

More than a competition, What’s Your Story, Jamaica? is a celebration of lived experience, proof that storytelling transcends background, class, and circumstance. For five years, the event has championed authenticity, vulnerability, and the magic that happens when people are brave enough to tell the truth out loud. These are not actors performing scripts. These are individuals telling the stories they lived.

Best known for her internationally acclaimed one-woman plays Mango, Mango, Invisible Chairs, Jamaica, Farewell, Cock Tales, and Look What Fell Out De Mango Tree, Ehrhardt says the heart of the production is simple: putting money directly into the pockets of Jamaican storytellers while honouring the power of their voices.

“Every great story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, but what makes it unforgettable is that people want to know what happens next,” says Ehrhardt. “My main goal is simple: don’t bore people. And remind them they’re not alone.”

Last year’s finalists performed before a sold-out audience at Half Moon in Montego Bay, delivering stories that ranged from laugh-out-loud hilarious to deeply moving. The format remains beautifully straightforward: Tell one true story – longer than six minutes – that happened to you.

Storytellers will be judged by a four-member panel of four local judges – Dr Kevin Brown, Dr Damien King, Kwame McPherson, TK Dawkins, Gracia Thompson – each awarding up to 20 points. The audience also plays a vital role, contributing their own points, making every performance a shared experience between storyteller and crowd.