Solo Show About African British Trailblazer Makes BAM Debut Tonight | Playbill

News Solo Show About African British Trailblazer Makes BAM Debut Tonight British actor Paterson Joseph brings his solo play Sancho: An Act of Remembrance to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for its New York premiere Dec. 16. The show is based on the true story of Charles Ignatius, who was the first man of African origin to cast a vote in Britain.

Sancho: An Act of Remembrance is conceived, written and performed by Joseph with co-direction by Simon Godwin. Performances at BAM run through Dec. 19 only.

"Born on a slave ship in 1729 and named for the founder of the Jesuit order, Ignatius was taken in by three sisters who intended to keep him like Don Quixote’s docile servant, Sancho Panza," describe press notes for the show. "Ignatius, however, pursued a daring and determined life, becoming a social satirist, actor, composer, man of letters, and the subject of a portrait by renowned 18th-century painter Thomas Gainsborough. Sancho: An Act of Remembrance is a surprising, witty, and moving look at the small but vibrant A community in England in the 1700s'. It tells the singular story of a man who achieved the distinction of being both wholly African and wholly British."

The monologue play has been performed in the U.K., as well as at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center and Lafayette College (Williams Center for the Arts) in Easton, PA.

Joseph returns to BAM following his performance as Brutus in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Julius Caesar. Along with numerous RSC credits, he has performed regularly at the National Theatre in London (Saint Joan, Royal Hunt for the Sun, The Emperor Jones, Elmina's Kitchen). His screen credits include HBO's "The Leftovers" and BBC's "The Hollow Crown."

Sancho: An Act of Remembrance features design by Michael Vale, music and sound design by Ben Park and lighting design by Lucrecia Briceño. Performances take place in the Fishman Space in the BAM Fisher Theatre, located at 321 Ashland Place, Brooklyn. To purchase tickets visit BAM.org.

 
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