On Thursday 20 October, in celebration of Black History Month, the drama scholars organised and put on a Performance Showcase to celebrate the works and influence of black artists. In what was the first event of its kind, and surely not the last, the evening provided an opportunity to raise awareness and introduce members of the Shiplake College community to perhaps not so well-known pieces of work by artists such as Cush Jumbo and James Weldon Johnson.
Prior to the show, BHM had been highlighted in several ways throughout October. At the beginning of the month, the Equality and Diversity team held a competition to design a poster on the theme of ‘Actions Not Words’.
The poster was to contain three colours. Black, the symbol of race; red, the symbol of the struggle and bloodshed in the fight for equality; and green, the symbol of new growth. This was won by Zac Fisher, with highly commended work going to Zac Powell, T Siveter, Oscar Owens, F Woodland, and J Morais.
In the Whole School Assembly ahead of the performance, Head of Drama, Mrs Emma Farrell, called Esme Young and Danny Petrov up to the front. While Danny recited his piece for Thursday, On Being Brought from Africa to America by Phyllis Wheatly, Esme delivered a powerful message about BHM.
On the night of the showcase, while waiting for the start of the performances, the audience was played a diverse range of music which included blues, and music from rapper and songwriter, Daniel Dumile (MF Doom). Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, Dumile became a major figure of underground hip hop and alternative hip hop in the 2000s.
On the big screen at the front of the stage, the biographies of various artists such as Malorie Blackman were displayed. Many of these artists’ work was going to be depicted later in the evening and so their biographies provided an opportunity for the audience to learn more about the people behind the art.
In her opening monologue, Mrs Farrell thanked the musicians who played in the leadup to the event and also highlighted the importance of BHM, as well as the aim of the show to “honour the too-often unheralded accomplishments of black people in every area of endeavour throughout history.” She added:
“This evening’s event has been curated to celebrate the work of black artists - predominantly playwrights, some poets, and a famous orator. Much of this work is rarely, if ever, seen in schools and never on our exam curriculum. The reasons for this are many, but one which we faced in the preparation for this evening was the question ‘who are we as a predominantly white community, who have not endured the tragic history, systemic racism, discrimination and battles of equality; who are we to comment on these issues and in our case perform in role as people who have endured these things?’
Our objective through this evening is not to appropriate the work or position them as our own stories, struggles or issues. Our aim is to give a wider audience to the work and the stories - raise awareness and celebrate the work of these fantastic artists.”
First to perform on the night was Felix Collar whose rendition of The British (serves 60 Million) by Benjamin Zephaniah is a poem about the diverse culture of Britain. As the title of the poem says, it is about the “60 Million” people living in Britain at the time of writing.
Next was Joe Fillipetto who performed Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Still I Rise is her declaration that she, for one, would not allow the hatefulness of society to determine her own success.
D Wilson was next with his performance – a monologue from TV sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which is the story of a fictionalised version of Will Smith. In this moving monologue, Will, in a rare fit of seriousness, talks about his feelings toward his father.
Lewis O'Donaghue and Noah Scotchbrook performed Statement of Regret by Kwame Kwei Armah In this scene, Kwaku Mackenzie, founder of a black policy think-tank, hits the bottle after his father’s death. As media interest in the once dynamic Institute fades, his team grows fractious and then, disastrously, favours a young Oxford scholar over his own devastated son.
James Lucking, who was on the early morning French and History trip the following day, recorded his performance, The Bard 2014 Race Monologue, which was played on the screen. In this monologue, a student speaks about everyday racism and how it can be seen in everything, from buildings to playgrounds, and impacts the chances black people have in the education system.
A Veitch performed next with a snapshot of Nelson Mandela’s famous three-hour speech, I am Prepared to Die. In this section Mandela discusses the controversy and ultimate stance he and his group members of the ANC made to remain together and fight for their rights as citizens of South Africa.
Performing Phyllis Wheatly’s On Being Brought from Africa to America was Danny Petrov. The poem speaks of her Christian conversion and joy that in the eyes of God all people, regardless of race, are seen as equal.
Next to perform was Pearse Welsh who performed a scene from Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses which is a captivating drama of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world. In Pearse's piece, we see the effects on the family of Callum, a Nought boy, after his sister is attacked by some other Noughts. Following this was Alfie Cheek’s monologue from the same play, where we hear from Sephy, a Cross, who goes to a boarding school following a huge bomb planted by Nought activists fighting for equal rights.
D Knight performed Sonnet by James Weldon Johnson which is a simple, motivational poem that sees a speaker encourage his own heart to strive for bravery rather than fear. In the poem, Johnson addresses the unavoidable darkness in the world, the internal, race-related struggle he faces.
Will Griffith was the penultimate performer with his rendition of A Soldier with a Secret by George C Wolfe. In this monologue, a deranged African American soldier sees his peers' painful future and chooses to spare them the inevitable by killing them before they are forced to endure what their future holds.
Last to perform was Esme Young who performed Josephine and I by Cush Jumbo. Josephine and I intertwines the story of a modern-day girl with that of one of the greatest, yet largely forgotten, stars of the twentieth century. In this scene, we meet Josephine's number one fan who introduces us to how quite an iconic performer she was.
All performers put on a fantastic show, and we hope that you will be keen to explore the work of Katori Hall or Cush Jumbo, with another, more diverse name on your lips in your next discussion about the theatre.
If you missed the show and want to get a taste of the performances, you can do so with this highlights video.
