Part of the Kennedy Center World Stages series

Sancho:an acT of remembrance

Performance/D iscussion

The true story of an African man who dared to act, write, sing, and voice his political opinion in 18th-century British society.

Conceived, written, and performed by Paterson Joseph

Co-directed by Simon Godwin

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abouT The Play Set during the height of the British slave trade, Sancho: An Act of Remembrance tells the remarkably true tale of Charles Ignatius Sancho. Based on his letters and publications, Sancho comes to life on stage in this one-man show written by and starring Paterson Joseph.

Told in two acts, the audience first meets Paterson Joseph as himself. He introduces the moment he discovers his portrait and tells us how he came to write the play. The scene then shifts as the audience meets Sancho in the spring of 1768. He is 39-years-old and having his portrait painted by Britain’s leading artist, Thomas Gainsborough. Eager to share his life’s twists and turns, Sancho begins with his birth aboard a British slave ship. He describes his early childhood and his chance meeting with the Duke of Montagu, his life-changing mentor who introduced Sancho to the world of literature, music, and theater.

Act Two fast-forwards to June 1780 where the audience meets Sancho on election day. Sancho is desperately searching for his property papers to show that he owns his grocery shop. (In 1780 England, only men who owned property could vote.) During his search, he describes both the happy and sad events of the past 12 years including his marriage and the lives of his

children. Act Two culminates with Sancho at Westminster casting his historic vote to become the first man of African origin to ever vote in a British parlimentary election.

Behind the Curtain

whaT To waTch and liSTen forDuring the performance and discussion, pay special attention to how…

n the actor “breaks the fourth wall” and speaks directly to the audience.

n the sound effects and background music—composed by Charles Ignatius Sancho—help set the mood.

n the minimal set transforms into a variety of locations by moving a simple object such as a crate, or through dramatic change in lighting, shifting the time from day to night.

n Sancho quotes and references people and publications that played major roles in shaping and inspiring his life such as his friend, 18th-century Shakespearean actor David Garrick, and the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes.

A Man of Determination

1729 Ignatius is born on a slave ship.

1731 He is given as a gift to an aristocratic household in London where he spends 18 years as a house slave. As a child, he is nicknamed “Sancho,” after Don Quixote’s faithful sidekick, who lived only to serve his master.

1736 Sancho meets the Duke of Montagu. Impressed with Sancho’s intellect, he encourages the child to learn to read and educate himself.

1749 Sancho runs away to work for the Duke of Montagu who frees Sancho and hires him as the household’s butler. In this highly regarded position, Sancho is exposed to arts, literature, travel, and notable members of society. He continues his studies and begins to write plays, poems, and music.

1760s He marries Anne Osbourne. They have six children (three of whom died before Sancho).

1766 Sancho writes his first of many letters to Laurence Sterne, a novelist, cleric, and abolitionist. Sterne publishes their correspondence entitled “The Sancho-Sterne Letters.” Sancho becomes known as a “man of letters.”

1768 Thomas Gainsborough paints Sancho’s portrait.

1772 Slavery is outlawed in England, but is permitted in the British colonies.

1774 Sancho suffers from gout and leaves Montagu’s staff opening his own grocery shop in London. Due to his status as a property owner, Sancho becomes eligible to vote.

1776 The United States declares its independence from the British Empire.

1780 Sancho casts his vote for Charles James Fox (the anti-slavery campaigner). Sancho dies in December; he is the first African to receive an obituary in the British press.

1782 Francis Anne Crewe collects his writings and publishes The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, an African. The book is a bestseller and is used to support an end to slavery.

1803 Sancho’s son, William Leach Osbourne, transforms the grocery shop into a printing and book-selling business, where he prints the fifth edition of Letters.

1808 Parliament passes the Slave Trade Act of 1807, outlawing the slave trade but not slavery itself.

1833 The Slavery Abolition Act is passed by Parliament, ending slavery throughout the British Empire. In America, however, the practice of slavery continues for over three decades, finally ending in 1865.

Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Charles Ignatius Sancho

The PlaywrighT and PerformerBorn in London, England in 1964, Paterson Joseph grew up hearing about the American Civil Rights Movement—a campaign that had become a powerful force against the injustices and racism faced by African Americans in the United States. As the world became increasingly familiar with African American heritage, Joseph grew curious about the lesser known history of the African British experience. In his studies, he stumbled across Charles Ignatius Sancho and immediately knew his story was worth sharing.

To learn more about Sancho: An Act of Remembrance, please visit ARTSEDGE at www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge/kc-connections

Paterson Joseph is an award-winning British stage and screen actor.

Cover Portrait of Charles ignatius sanCho by thomas gainsborough (1768)

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President, Education

Support for this working rehearsal is made possible by Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Additional support is provided by the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2015 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts