March 26, 2015  

Yarico

Heard of Yarico? It’s a play or is it a musical? Or it’s songs and performances telling a story – a story about slavery; its related to Madame Butterfly and Miss Saigon; its an old story but given modern trafficking it is almost certainly a modern story too.

I went to see the London Theatre Workshop’s production a couple of weeks ago at the Eel Brook pub in London’s trendy King’s Road. The pub itself was new to me as was its theatre but well worth a visit and Yarico was a good introduction.

Yarico was an Amerindian from Barbados, who saved the life of an English merchant, named Inkle, ship-wrecked in the 17th century off Barbados. They fell in love with each other, but, as the play had it, he gambled her away on a losing streak. She was enslaved, exploited and abused.

In 1787, George Colman wrote an opera called Inkle and Yarico. The romanticised opera was an enormous success and was performed some 250 times on the London stage before playing in Dublin, Jamaica, New York, Philadelphia, Calcutta, Boston, and Charleston (Thanks to Wikipedia for this data). It appealed to a society, which was just embracing the anti-slavery movement – the slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807, and slavery itself in 1833, again in the Empire. US slavery was abolished in 1863, but as we now know to our shame slavery, especially female slavery, is still very prevalent to this day.

The 2015 version I saw was graced with a very lively and enthusiastic troupe of actors and a very simple but effective production by John & Jodie Kidd. The actors were all athletic – not exactly dance but plenty of physicality in this show – and dynamic. However, the star of the show was Liberty Buckland, who played Yarico herself.

Liberty has a beautiful and powerful voice. Personally I would love to see her play Maria in Westside Story and add some life to the rather insipid classical film version played by Natalie Wood. She brought passion and vibrancy to the role.

But Alex Spinney’s Inkle deserves more than just a mention – again a good voice if perhaps not with the power that one might envisage for the role – and again superb athleticism. Jean-Luke Worrell’s Cicero was yet another among a string of excellent performances.

I went with some people hoping and expecting a little-known eighteenth century play – don’t go with that in mind as what they got was a lively, loud (but not too loud) very modern take on an old story of man’s inhumanity to woman! It does, however, end on a very upbeat and uplifting number called Spirit Eternal. If you read this NOW then I recommend you go straight-away. You have until 28th March, 2015!

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About Tony Belton

Labour Councillor for Latchmere Ward 1972-2022, now Battersea Park Ward, London Borough of Wandsworth Ever hopeful Spurs supporter; Lane visit to the Lane, 1948 Olympics. Why don't they simply call the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, The Lane? Once understood IT but no longer

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