152:, whose crew threw 132 slaves overboard, ostensibly to avoid a water shortage, and whose owners then claimed insurance for their loss. When the insurers appeal, Equiano persuades the abolitionist movement to bring a criminal prosecution, documenting the insurance trial as evidence. Equiano feels an empathetic connection with the experience of three women enslaved aboard the
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Through inspirational characters, the play became "a story of our time, celebrating the power of the human spirit against adversity, and the journey of our past to understand our place in the world". As
Equiano says in the play, "Why a thing happens is not the question, rather what we do when a thing
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The play is based on actual historical events and draws on the records of the court case and the book written by
Equiano, but it demonstrates their close connection to modern society, and counterbalances the courtroom drama by telling the story of the enslaved Africans, "a theatrical equivalent of
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Terera recognised the dramatic potential in a small detail in one of the documents concerning a person who was thrown overboard yet managed to grab a rope and pull themselves back onto the ship. "That's where I started, with that character, because that was someone I wanted to see a play about."
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I did so much research about this period, but these huge holes in history and our unwillingness to talk about this subject only adds to keeping this history invisible. So, for me, it was about finding a way to tell this story so that the audience could listen to it, hear it, see it, without
168:, in which the writer and performer are one and the same and engage the audience directly. In the opening production, the writer Giles Terera played the part of Equiano, while the onstage musical director Sidiki Dembele used traditional instruments and involved both cast and audience.
156:, and in particular with the one who survived after being thrown into the sea. He is forced to confront his own personal journey, and in so doing brings the story back to the audience in the present day.
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praised the "richly theatrical" production, which "refrains from didacticism and easy metaphors".
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praised the "magnificent shifting set", the ensemble cast and the onstage musical director. The
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The play was first staged in April 2022 at the
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described it as "a powerful story that feels particularly relevant right now."
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The play opens with an argument about how to categorise a book on slavery. The
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and its importance in the modern world. The play was first performed in
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Ama, Riba and Joyi, women from West Africa who are enslaved on the Zong
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532:"REVIEW: 'The Meaning of Zong' at Liverpool Playhouse"
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connects this to the shocking story of the slave ship
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479:"The Meaning Of Zong Postponed Until April 2022"
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361:. Bristol: Bristol Old Vic. 2022.
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359:The Meaning of Zong: Programme
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172:the modern victim statement".
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334:"The Meaning of Zong"
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209:in 2018. During the
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572:Plays about slavery
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193:Development
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457:Drama on 3
270:References
227:Tom Morris
189:happens."
104:first mate
73:Characters
30:slave ship
16:Stage play
201:and the
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