The Stage

African Snow

Published Tuesday 3 April 2007 at 11:35 by Kevin Berry

An imagined meeting between a former slave and an ex-slave trader - now turned supposedly good Christian gentleman - is the basis for this much anticipated play from Murray Watts and the Riding Lights company.

That the self-educated Olauda Equiano and John Newton, author of the hymn Amazing Grace, did meet is highly likely as they mixed in the same abolitionist circles in London.

African Snow is painfully instructive. The taking of Equiano’s little sister is a searing episode yet the play remains very much a documentary. It frequently shocks; it asks some searching questions, but it rarely grips. Slavery and the slave trade hardly come across as an accepted, unquestioned part of life.

Israel Oyelumade brings dignity and a worthwhile degree of everyday humanity to the part of Equiano. John Newton’s character is less clear cut and is a struggle to act. He goes through a dramatic religious conversion but continues to captain a slave trading vessel. Roger Alborough’s playing of Newton will improve.

Emmanuella Cole and Antonia Kemi Coker play Equiano’s mother and daughter with heartbreaking emotions. Role changes are handled smoothly by a diligent ensemble cast but, as with many historical dramas, the introduction of well known characters such as William Wilberforce seem wooden.

Sean Cavanagh’s slanted wall bar set, chiefly suggesting a ship’s interior structure, ensures epic action and fluid movement. Ben Okafor’s specially composed music gives the slaves their history, their culture and their hope.