Red Bus Londinium Life

Olaudah Equiano should be a household name, so it is fantastic that, in this play, Giles Terera brings his pivotal story to a wider audience. The deaths on the Zong are a story so important and disgraceful that that story should be heard, too. In this play, Equiano’s own words ring down the ages as does the suffering of those human souls who met their terrible fate on the Zong.

Olaudah Equiano was born, it is believed, in Nigeria and was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He was sold twice more before purchasing his freedom in 1766. He was part of the abolitionist Sons of Africa and wrote his autobiography (still in print today) in 1789.

It is easy to forget that in the Georgian era there were around 10,000 people of African descent living in London, and this play reminds us clearly. We are introduced to not only Equiano but also Ottobah Cugoano and Ignatius Sancho.

Equiano was crucial in the court case between the slave owners and the insurers after the horrendous drownings from the Zong. The Zong was a slave ship and its slaves were, as was common, insured as cargo. When the ship ran out of water, 132 slaves were thrown overboard to their deaths. The owners then claimed insurance compensation for these deaths, claiming such deaths were an acceptable practice. This was something which Equiano and other abolitionists (such as Granville Sharp) found intolerable.

Terera’s play deftly weaves the story of the court case (in many cases with the actual words used), alongside an imagining of life on the boat and Equiano’s own story. Music from Sidiki Dembele, played in view on stage, sews the narrative together and adds the emotion.

The set is sparse but cleverly used with pieces of wood becoming book shelves, the boat and the court room. It is always evident which part of the story being told. The talented cast also move seamlessly between different characters with no confusion.

This is a powerful piece of theatre which tells us a story which deserves to be better known. Recommended.

Have you seen The Meaning of Zong? Let me know your thoughts below.