Catch The Meaning of Zong at Bristol Old Vic
Posted on: 23 Mar 2022The brand-new play, written and directed by Olivier Award winning actor Giles Terera, explores one of the most harrowing periods in history and the long-fought battle to abolish slavery.
Based on true historical events with, The Meaning of Zong is one of Bristol Old Vic’s flagship productions for 2022.
The play, that featured as a BBC radio play in 2020, features a spellbinding ensemble cast and runs at the Bristol theatre from Saturday 2 April and Saturday 7 May.
Tickets for the run can be found on the Bristol Old Vic website now with a two for one ticket deal available, courtesy of the National Lottery’s Love Your Theatre campaign.
Two hundred years ago, Olaudah Equiano recited the bleak and disturbing accounts of a massacre of 132 African men, women and children when they were thrown from the slave ship Zong by their captors.
Equiano, who was once enslaved himself, joined forces with anti-slavery campaigner Granville Sharp to condemn these actions thus meaningfully contributing to the eventual abolition of slavery in the UK.
The Meaning of Zong explores much more than Olaudah’s life in the courtroom. Having bought his own freedom, he now faces a deeply personal battle to rediscover his past and accept his true self.
Giles Terera’s daringly inventive debut is a beautiful retelling of a story that even the playwright admits he did not know enough about. The piece acts as a celebration of human spirit and our journey to understand our place in the world.
Terera – who wrote, directs and stars in the play – is an acclaimed actor musician and filmmaker. His most notable role, that of Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Hamilton’, won him the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
The Meaning of Zong runs between 2 April and 7 May and tickets are now available through the theatre website. The age recommendation for this show is 12+ and tickets can be purchased from £8 with various discounts on offer.
The National Lottery’s two for one ticket deal (as part of their Love Your Theatre campaign) is also available, head to the website for more information.
To find out more about what’s going on at Bristol Old Vic, visit the theatre’s What’s On page.
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Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.
