Simon Schama: His book about slaves turned into a play
The acknowledgements begin with a rare profession of ignorance. Simon Schama was having lunch one day in Columbia University.
Across the table, he says, Britain's consul-general in New York mentioned that "of course" Schama would know all about "the thousands of free blacks in New York at the end of the Revolutionary War and what became of them. In fact, I had no clue what he was talking about."
Schama began reading, and soon he began writing. Being Schama, he then began filming. But the book and the BBC documentary turn out not to have been the end of the line for Rough Crossings, his compelling account of the blacks who fought for George III in the American revolution on the promise of freedom.
The theatre director Rupert Goold read the Herculean tale of the freed slaves who were shipped to Nova Scotia in the 1780s and found the king's promise only half kept, only for committed British abolitionists to resettle some of them in Sierra Leone. He asked Schama if the book could be fashioned into a play. So, for the first time in his career, Schama finds himself in a rehearsal room with a company of actors. How is he finding the experience?
"On a scale on one to 10, as they say in Spinal Tap, 11. It's fantastic, it really is." His common touch has clearly not deserted him.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
Across the table, he says, Britain's consul-general in New York mentioned that "of course" Schama would know all about "the thousands of free blacks in New York at the end of the Revolutionary War and what became of them. In fact, I had no clue what he was talking about."
Schama began reading, and soon he began writing. Being Schama, he then began filming. But the book and the BBC documentary turn out not to have been the end of the line for Rough Crossings, his compelling account of the blacks who fought for George III in the American revolution on the promise of freedom.
The theatre director Rupert Goold read the Herculean tale of the freed slaves who were shipped to Nova Scotia in the 1780s and found the king's promise only half kept, only for committed British abolitionists to resettle some of them in Sierra Leone. He asked Schama if the book could be fashioned into a play. So, for the first time in his career, Schama finds himself in a rehearsal room with a company of actors. How is he finding the experience?
"On a scale on one to 10, as they say in Spinal Tap, 11. It's fantastic, it really is." His common touch has clearly not deserted him.