Details

In 1855 a young woman finds herself on trial for murder. She claimed the victim was trying to rape her and had succeeded in doing so repeatedly for several years. The sympathy of the court and the ensuing verdict should have been assured, but this woman was black and the man she killed her owner. This story takes place 50 years after the 1807 act brought an end to the slave trade (but not the institution of slavery). CELIA explores the reality of sexual violence and rape endured by countless female slaves of all ages, and is told using letters and personal accounts of slaves, as well as documented transcripts from the trial.

Creatives/Company

Author: Richard Nyeila (inspired by Melton A. McLaurin's biography Celia Slave)