Latest news with #ShermanTheatre
Western Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
Play on Banksy artwork in Port Talbot at Torch Theatre
The Sherman Theatre's co-production with Theatr3, Port Talbot's Gotta Banksy, will be performed at the Milford Haven theatre on May 20. The show will examine the effect of Banksy's 2018 mural Season's Greetings, which appeared on a Port Talbot steelworker's garage, on the community. The script is based on more than 100 hours of interviews with residents, conducted over six years, and tells the story of the Port Talbot Banksy in the community's own words. Paul Jenkins and Tracy Harris, artistic directors of Theatr3, wrote the play, with Mr Jenkins directing. Mr Jenkins said: "This will be the first time the story of the impact of a Banksy on a community has been told on stage, and the people whose remarkable stories we gathered have plenty to say. "It's been an extraordinary process, generating a script full of anger but also incredible resilience and laugh-out-loud humour." The play will be performed by Jalisa Andrews, Matthew Bulgo, Holly Carpenter, Ioan Hefin, Simon Nehan, and Kerry Joy Stewart. Sherman Theatre's chief executive, Julia Barry, said: "This is truly a south Wales story that speaks to the world; one that made global headlines, unfolded in a town with a huge artistic reach and whose community's voices demand to be heard. "We're delighted to bring this new play to audiences in Wales." The play will be performed at the Torch Theatre on Tuesday, May 20, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £22, £20 for concessions, and £15 for under 26s. For more information, visit the Torch Theatre website or call the box office on 01646 695267.
Telegraph
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Women of Llanrumney: A deft exploration of the brutalising impact of slavery
'Freedom can't be written on no piece of paper,' Cerys tells her mother Annie – an enslaved housemaid on the Llanrumney sugar cane plantation in 1760s Jamaica. 'Real freedom is fought for through revolution and war.' With this exchange, Azuka Oforka's cracking debut both deftly exposes the contingent nature of freedom and throws down a gauntlet to the received wisdom that slavery was ended exclusively by the abolitionist movement and not, to some degree, by the many uprisings of the slaves themselves. Oforka's drama, first seen at Cardiff's Sherman Theatre last year, could have been a worthy historical jeremiad. Instead, it ostensibly presents itself as a pleasingly old-fashioned drawing-room comedy. Inspired by the little-storied history of Welsh slave owners in 18th century Jamaica, it takes place in the plush parlour into which Elisabeth, sole heiress to the real life Llanrumney plantation, staggers into breakfast each morning appallingly hungover, brassy hair akimbo and lipstick too crimson, like a cross between Miss Hannigan and Blackadder's Elizabeth I. Elisabeth, played with fabulous gusto by Nia Roberts, likes to regale her loyal and longserving housemaid Annie in almost sisterly fashion with scurrilous tales of the drunken and debauched night before, before retiring for a quick snooze before 'second breakfast' ('food is how these planters flex their wealth', says Annie to Cerys). Yet, like Ranevsky in The Cherry Orchard, she is blind to her impending doom: the crops are failing, her debts are skyrocketing and, beyond the elegant French veranda, revolution is brewing in the fields. Oforka cleverly shows the brutalising fault lines of slavery, from Annie's earlier rejection at birth of her darker-skinned daughter in order to safeguard the undeniably freer life she enjoys as a housekeeper, to the ugly revenge executed against Elisabeth by one of her former slaves. Cerys, newly brought in from the fields to be trained up as a maid, and who looks in vain to her mother for a sign of maternal affection, acts as a sort of chorus, speaking truth to power and able to intuit changes in the air that the much more insulated Annie and Elisabeth cannot. Both Annie and Cerys are played with impeccable nuance by Suzanne Packer and Shvorne Marks respectively in a play that is consistently alert to the shifting dynamics of power between women and which also boldly maintains a tiny sliver of sympathy for the monstrous and ultimately pitiless Elisabeth – a rare independent-minded woman in colonialism's cut-throat male playground. Patricia Logue's light-footed production rarely missteps either, dancing the tightrope between queasy farce – embodied further by three pompous, perfumed plantation owning grotesques inhabited with fruity relish by Matthew Gravelle – and the still-shocking reality of slavery. This latter is all the more powerful for being mostly described rather than enacted, with a particularly appalling story told by Annie to her daughter that sheds some light on Annie's determined self preservation. Perhaps the play is a little too long, and perhaps too it contains a needless final exchange between Annie and Elisabeth – the brute truth of their relationship is, after all, all too apparent. It's a tremendous first play, though, poised and assured, and fully deserving of its London transfer.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wales' slavery legacy explored in new play
It is important not to forget the "atrocities the British Empire was involved in," a playwright has said as her debut hit play heads to London. Azuka Oforka, 43, was one of two winners of the best writer at the Stage Debut Awards last year for The Women of Llanrumney. It explores Welsh links to slavery and the role of Sir Henry Morgan - the Welsh plantation owner and later Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. Azuka was inspired to write the play after a visit to Cardiff's Llanrumney Hall where she first learnt about Wales' connection to the Atlantic slave trade. Azuka Oforka grew up in London but moved to Cardiff in 2012. The English actress is known for her role in Casualty but has gone through a "whirlwind" 18 months writing her play. "It's a debut that many writers would dream of. Hopefully it opens the door to tell many more stories," she said. Welshman recognised in USA for anti-slavery work Slave owner Picton's portrait removed from museum From slave to slave owner She was inspired after seeing a portrait of Sir Henry Morgan in Llanrumney Hall, the man who set up the Llanrumney sugar plantation in 18th Century Jamaica. "It was captioned Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. I just knew that grandiose title had obscured a real brutal legacy of slavery," she said. The Sherman Theatre in Cardiff was looking for stories that spoke to a Welsh audience at the time and representatives contacted Azuka, who felt it was her "call to arms" to explore Wales' links with slavery and the British Empire. Sir Henry Morgan (1635-1688), the Llanrumney-born Caribbean buccaneer and one-time acting governor, became a plantation owner on the island and is commemorated in Morgan's Valley in Clarendon, a parish in Jamaica. Azuka said she was "completely unaware" of his links to slavery, despite him being "a founding father of a slave colony". "I would not have written this play had I been based anywhere else," she added. The Women of Llanrumney will be played at London's Stratford East Theatre before returning to The Sherman in April. Azuka said it has resonated with audiences who she was keen not to "patronize". "This hidden history is brought to life in a rich electric, thought-provoking and thrilling night of theatre," she said. The Atlantic slave trade "still shapes the modern world" according to Azuka, which makes this story relevant, despite it being set hundreds of years ago. "It built vast wealth for Britain and it's left a legacy of economic, racial and social inequalities," she said. Azuka would like to see more schools have an "honest conversation" about British history with their pupils. "We don't really learn about the 400 years of immense wealth that it built for Britain and the people's lives that it affected generation after generation." Azuka is "really excited" about the future and said she was brimming with ideas for her next play. "I'm inspired to tell stories of marginalized women, working class women, black people," she said. She is also keen to uncover more of Wales' hidden history. Chris Evans, a history professor at University of South Wales and author of Slave Wales, said the nation had a "quite intimate relationship with the Caribbean". "It had a niche role to play in that it supplied particular inputs to the wider Atlantic economy and to the Caribbean economy." Demand for copper and brace led to the creation of the copper smelting industry in south Wales, leading to the district of Swansea becoming "Europe's leading copper producing region by the end of the 18th Century". He said people would "become wealthy in the Caribbean then invest their money in real estate in Wales". One person who benefited enormously was Sir Henry Morgan. "He goes to the West Indies because he's not somebody who has many prospects in Wales or in England," said Prof Evans. "He makes his money there and, like most people in the 17th Century, he reinvests what money he has in enslaved human beings. "Caribbean planters were simply stupendously rich, I mean they were the oligarchs of their day." While the planters have a past that is enshrouded in exploitation, their impact on Wales is still visible today. "People of African descent in Wales tend to be one of two sorts. One is that they are children of Caribbean planters, that's to say, of a Welsh father and an African or Afro descendant. "We can think of people like that, like Nathaniel Wells, who inherits a major estate in Monmouthshire." Prof Evans said it was a "critical part" of Welsh history. He added: "The more we look the more the linkages between the 18th Century Atlantic world, Britain as a society and a culture become apparent." 200 memorials linked to slave trade in Wales Welsh weavers 'implicated in slave trade' Wales' hidden slave trade links
BBC News
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Slavery: Wales' links to Caribbean legacy explored in play
It is important not to forget the "atrocities the British Empire was involved in," a playwright has said as her debut hit play heads to Oforka, 43, was one of two winners of the best writer at the Stage Debut Awards last year for The Women of explores Welsh links to slavery and the role of Sir Henry Morgan - the Welsh plantation owner and later Lieutenant Governor of was inspired to write the play after a visit to Cardiff's Llanrumney Hall where she first learnt about Wales' connection to the Atlantic slave trade. Azuka Oforka grew up in London but moved to Cardiff in English actress is known for her role in Casualty but has gone through a "whirlwind" 18 months writing her play."It's a debut that many writers would dream of. Hopefully it opens the door to tell many more stories," she said. She was inspired after seeing a portrait of Sir Henry Morgan in Llanrumney Hall, the man who set up the Llanrumney sugar plantation in 18th Century Jamaica."It was captioned Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. I just knew that grandiose title had obscured a real brutal legacy of slavery," she Sherman Theatre in Cardiff was looking for stories that spoke to a Welsh audience at the time and representatives contacted Azuka, who felt it was her "call to arms" to explore Wales' links with slavery and the British Empire. Sir Henry Morgan (1635-1688), the Llanrumney-born Caribbean buccaneer and one-time acting governor, became a plantation owner on the island and is commemorated in Morgan's Valley in Clarendon, a parish in said she was "completely unaware" of his links to slavery, despite him being "a founding father of a slave colony"."I would not have written this play had I been based anywhere else," she Women of Llanrumney will be played at London's Stratford East Theatre before returning to The Sherman in said it has resonated with audiences who she was keen not to "patronize"."This hidden history is brought to life in a rich electric, thought-provoking and thrilling night of theatre," she said. The Atlantic slave trade "still shapes the modern world" according to Azuka, which makes this story relevant, despite it being set hundreds of years ago."It built vast wealth for Britain and it's left a legacy of economic, racial and social inequalities," she would like to see more schools have an "honest conversation" about British history with their pupils."We don't really learn about the 400 years of immense wealth that it built for Britain and the people's lives that it affected generation after generation." Azuka is "really excited" about the future and said she was brimming with ideas for her next play."I'm inspired to tell stories of marginalized women, working class women, black people," she is also keen to uncover more of Wales' hidden history. Chris Evans, a history professor at University of South Wales and author of Slave Wales, said the nation had a "quite intimate relationship with the Caribbean"."It had a niche role to play in that it supplied particular inputs to the wider Atlantic economy and to the Caribbean economy."Demand for copper and brace led to the creation of the copper smelting industry in south Wales, leading to the district of Swansea becoming "Europe's leading copper producing region by the end of the 18th Century".He said people would "become wealthy in the Caribbean then invest their money in real estate in Wales". One person who benefited enormously was Sir Henry Morgan."He goes to the West Indies because he's not somebody who has many prospects in Wales or in England," said Prof Evans."He makes his money there and, like most people in the 17th Century, he reinvests what money he has in enslaved human beings."Caribbean planters were simply stupendously rich, I mean they were the oligarchs of their day."While the planters have a past that is enshrouded in exploitation, their impact on Wales is still visible today."People of African descent in Wales tend to be one of two sorts. One is that they are children of Caribbean planters, that's to say, of a Welsh father and an African or Afro descendant."We can think of people like that, like Nathaniel Wells, who inherits a major estate in Monmouthshire."Prof Evans said it was a "critical part" of Welsh added: "The more we look the more the linkages between the 18th Century Atlantic world, Britain as a society and a culture become apparent."
