YANKEES GONE, by Tony Hall and Mary Jane Gomes, is the story of two aging prostitutes, Jean and Dinah, who lived their whole lives in Trinidad. Like many, Jean and Dinah became prostitutes while the Americans occupied bases on the island during World War II and immediately after. Adapted from one of Trinidad’s most celebrated plays, JEAN AND DINAH features real stories garnered from women whose lives were shaped and thwarted by American servicemen.

YANKEES GONE, by Tony Hall and Mary Jane Gomes, is the story of two aging prostitutes, Jean and Dinah, who lived their whole lives in Trinidad. Like many, Jean and Dinah became prostitutes while the Americans occupied bases on the island during World War II and immediately after. Adapted from one of Trinidad’s most celebrated plays, JEAN AND DINAH features real stories garnered from women whose lives were shaped and thwarted by American servicemen.

For many of these servicemen, Trinidad was their last stop before going into action in Europe. Many provided handsomely for the local women. Jean and Dinah were women fighting for their dignity. Dancers, stickfighters, warriors, mothers, lovers, wives, sisters and daughters, they worked the streets for a living, to support their families and raise their children.

In 1956, the now world-famous calypsonian, Mighty Sparrow sang the calypso, “Jean and Dinah, Rosita and Clementina” heralding the informal departure of the Americans, “The Yankees gone and Sparrow take over now”. Sparrow emphatically and forcefully alerted all that women like Jean and Dinah would henceforth have to be satisfied with meager offerings from local men, “three shillings with a smile”.