Details

African Snow tells the story of the meeting of two men - cast from opposite sides into the hell of the slave trade. An African, Olaudah Equiano, seized from his home in West Africa and an English sailor, John Newton. Both survived to write remarkable accounts of their experiences and both were urged by Yorkshire MP William Wilberforce to testify before parliament in the eighteenth century campaign for abolition. Together, Equiano and Newton seem to Wilberforce to provide the most cogent argument in winning the political battle. Bringing them face to face, however, is perhaps beyond the scope of human reason. Can victim and abuser ever be reconciled? African Snow takes us to the heart of the human condition, to the place where two men are compelled to confront each other. 25 March 2007 marks the bicentenary of the Act, passed in the House of Commons, abolishing the Trade in African Slaves. African Snow website.
Performers Israel Oyelumade, Roger Alborough, Mensah Bediako, Emmanuella Cole, Antonia Kemi Coker, Chris Jack, Rex Obano, Kenny Thompson.
Author Murray Watts. Producer York Theatre Royal. Company Riding Lights Theatre Company. Director Paul Burbridge. Design Sean Cavanagh. Music Ben Okafor. Lighting Ben Cracknell.