A University historian is collaborating with a group of musicians to stage a unique event examining slavery and its legacies.
Dr. Christer Petley is working with renowned vocalist Elaine Mitchener to create a performance which blends sound and movement and draws on his research into slavery in 18th century sugar plantations of the Caribbean. It is being staged at the Snape Proms 2016 in Suffolk today (11 August 2016).
Dr Petley comments: “We want to bring to life the historical world of plantation slavery and encourage audiences to think about the issues of enslavement, forced movement and suffering – issues which are still a reality for many people around the world today.”
In the performance Sweet Tooth, musicians Jason Yarde, Sylvia Hallett and Mark Sanders create a soundscape to accompany Elaine Mitchener’s vocals and Dr Petley’s research on plantation slavery in the 1800s. It’s a reference to his forthcoming book, Slavery and Revolution – which lays bare the harsh conditions slaves endured and considers the individuals caught up in the trade.
Dr Petley explains: “The machinery of sugar and slavery divided, ruled and inflicted untold pain on countless named, unnamed and misnamed individuals. The sights and sounds of plantation Jamaica in working motion were part of a much bigger machine. The blood and sweat of the slave workforce, and the sweet produce of acre after acre of sugar cane, helped drive the imperial economy.
Aspects of Sweet Tooth were developed and presented in an experimental performance in June at Turner Sims on the University’s Highfield campus. A further work-in-progress showing is being presented at Aldeburgh Music’s Open Sessions section at the Snape Proms 2016 in Suffolk on Thursday 11 August.