Sancho, Wilton’s Music Hall

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By Laura Kressly

Like many before and after him, Ignatius Sancho was born on a slave ship in 1729. Unlike other slaves, the orphan received an education, married, owned property, published letters and compositions, and was the first black person to vote in a British election. 

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How to Survive a Post-Truth Apocalypse, Battersea Arts Centre

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by guest critic Amy Toledano

Francesca Beard delves into the complex subject of truth and looks at how it could be perceived in a post-apocalyptic world. Using spoken word (which Beard is clearly a pro at) as well as song and multimedia imagery, the audience takes a journey with their Shaman and guide Francesca who hopes to lead them to the real meaning of truth.

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Songs for Nobodies, Wilton’s Music Hall

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by guest critic Kudzanayi Chiwawa

If you’ve not been to Wilton’s, the oldest grand music hall in the world, it’s a wonderful treat. This tucked away venue, is the stage for the European premiere of Songs For Nobodies, written by acclaimed playwright, Joanna Murray-Smith, directed by Simon Phillips, and performed by Bernadette Robinson.

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Beowulf, Battersea Arts Centre

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by Laura Kressly

Stories always have monsters. They may not be literal monsters, but anything that’s scary, or an obstacle, or destabilising, or otherwise threatens the story’s hero.

Stories also always have choices. Usually a lot of them, made by the hero, that determine his or her fate.

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YAYAYA AYAYAY, Southbank Centre

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By Laura Kressly

The infant Earth was a place of chaos and noise. High winds, rivers of lava and churning layers of rock glowed and cracked. It’s from this hot, toxic sea that arose the perfect conditions for life as the surface of the planet divided into sea and land, and gravity’s pull invited the formation of an atmosphere.

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Big Bad, VAULT Festival

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by Laura Kressly

A woman is chained up in a damp cell. Alone, she is watched by an unseen group of men, afraid of her power. She rants, lectures and mocks them, gradually exposing the real reason she is imprisoned. It’s a pretty horrible thing, but her story of abuse, sexual power and society’s fear of strong women echoes like the howl of a wolf.

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Foreign Body, VAULT Festival

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by guest critic Alex Dowding

Sexual assault: It’s sadly been around since the dawn of time, and despite being in focus more than ever now since the #MeToo movement took off on social media, it may not ever go away. Here Imogen Butler-Cole alongside the charity He For She aims to de-stigmatise the dialogue surrounding it with a movement-heavy solo piece.

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