Ciao, Bella!

How  are  you?  And  how  is  Rome?  The  Eternal  City  is  all  very  well,  but  I’ve  been  here  in 

Wolverhampton for two days now and that’s felt pretty eternal (though I can reveal that the Pizza Hut 

here is excellent, just excellent).

Since I last saw you I have decided to take that job I was telling you about, with Sledgehammer 

Theatre Co-operative and for the last four months we have been devising, rehearsing and touring with 

‘Cruel Cargo’, an Arts Council-funded spectacular about the slave-trade told through the medium of 

story, folk song and some pretty shocking mime. I have enclosed a crudely photocopied leaflet so that 

you can see what a classy number it really is.

 

Cruel Cargo is a TIE piece (that’s Theatre-in-Education to you) aimed at 11–13-year-olds that 

takes the provocative view that slavery was a Bad Thing. I play Lydia, the, um, well, yes, the LEAD 

ROLE as a matter of fact, the spoilt and vain daughter of the wicked Sir Obadiah Grimm (can you tell 

from  his name that he’s not very nice?) and in the show’s most powerful moment I come to realise 

that all  my  pretty  things, all  my  dresses  (indicate dress)  and  jewels  (likewise)  are  bought  with the 

blood of my fellow human beings (sob-sob) and that I feel dirty (stare at hands as if  SEEING THE 

BLOOD)  dirty  to  my  SOOOOOOUUUUL.  It’s  very  powerful  stuff,  though  ruined  last  night  by 

some kids throwing Maltesers at my head.

But seriously, actually, it’s not as bad as that, not in context, and I don’t know why I’m being 

cynical, defence-mechanism probably. We actually get a great response from the kids who see it, the 

ones that don’t throw stuff, and we do these workshops in schools that are just really exciting. It’s 

staggering how little these kids know about their  cultural heritage, even the West Indian kids, about 

where they come from. I’ve enjoyed writing it too and it’s given me lots of ideas for other plays and 

stuff. So I think it’s worthwhile even if you think I’m wasting my time. I really, really think we can

change things, Dexter.