Latest editorial
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
The Meaning of Zong
Giles Terera's debut play on the intentional drowning of 132 slaves in 1781 has a grim resonance today, argues SIMON PARSONS
New releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
JOHN GREEN relishes photography that unfolds a longstanding and poetic relationship with Leeds
A uncomfortably misogynistic authorial voice that sometimes seems to lack insight troubles FIONA O’CONNOR
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production that panders – if inadvertently – to Western prejudice against China
JOHN GREEN is fascinated by a history that excavates the enormous role played by agricultural workers in recent times
ALEX HALL recommends a book that places empirical evidence at the heart of understanding racism
The Meaning of Zong
Bristol Old Vic
ANOTHER long awaited production rewards both Bristol’s commitment to the project and Giles Terera’s determination to tell this vital story that looks to the past to illuminate the present.
Although the barbaric details of the intentional drowning of 132 slaves in 1781 for the sake of an insurance claim has been the subject of various films and books, its savagery is often viewed in historical isolation or as an example of the worst horrors of the slave trade. Terara’s debut play has tried to show its relevance today, especially for black identities.
The connections across time are highlighted by the largely modern idiom used to explore the historical material and the contemporary bookshop setting that frames the action as well as some interactions having direct current parallels.
More from this author
SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
SIMON PARSONS applauds a tense and thoughtful production that regularly challenges our political engagement and prejudices
SIMON PARSONS questions whether a dark take on Shakespeare’s Seasonal comedy is in harmony with the original text
