PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

After a successful tour in 2007,

(Registered Charity 1099807)

is delighted to present a limited season of

AN AFRICAN’S BLOOD

Written and directed by Kate Glover

An African’s Blood traces the events leading to the Abolition of the Slave Trade which was finally achieved on March 25^th 1807 . It tells the story of William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson and the ex slave Olaudah Equiano as they battle to change the hearts and minds of those who felt that the slave trade and the use of slaves on sugar plantations in the West Indies was essential to the British Economy. Finally the people understood, and actions such as a sugar boycott helped the abolitionists to achieve their goals. The play begins and ends with a reminder that slavery is still with us and that there is much to be done.

2008 Programme
17 April, at 2:30 pm	Wellington College, Crowthorne
19 May, 2:30 pm	WISE (The Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, Hull )	This is right next to WILBERFORCE HOUSE, the birthplace of William Wilberforce. It is a research institute established by the University of Hull , and has a world-class reputation for research into the history of slavery and emancipation.
23 May, 7 pm	St Mary Woolnoth, London Lombard Street , London EC3V 9AN	St Mary Woolnoth, designed by Hawkesmoor, is the church of John Newton , a character in the play and one time slaver, who wrote the words to Amazing Grace
15 June, 3:00 pm	Museum in Docklands, West India Quay, London E14	The London , Sugar and Slavery Exhibition, is a permanent exhibition which examines London ’s involvement in transatlantic slavery
24-26 July, 7:00 pm	Henley Fringe Festival, the Council Chambers	Book
27 July	International Slavery Museum, Liverpool	One time slave port (and so acknowledged), and now European Capital of Culture 2008

The play will be presented as a dramatic reading by six professional actors and will last one hour.

A Message from Anti-Slavery International

"An African's Blood" is a timely production. 2007 marked the Bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British colonies. Such an anniversary provided us with an opportunity to look anew at the Transatlantic Slave Trade which stands apart from both past and present forms of slavery in terms of its scale and brutality; the institutions that supported it and the long term repercussions still felt on three continents. Anti-Slavery International has been campaigning against slavery since 1839 and continues to fight for the freedom of those enslaved in the world today and to address the legacy of slavery. Please join in this fight and sign the declaration or go to our website at: www.antislavery.org/2007 and Join the Fight for Freedom

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