An award-winning playwright visited Perth Sheriff Court to see the place where the subject of his latest play won his freedom almost 250 years ago.
May Sumbwanyambe, writer of Enough of Him, visited the Perth courthouse to see where 18th century slave Joseph Knight made legal history in 1778.
The play, based on Knight’s life, runs at Perth Theatre from November 16 to 19.
Landmark legal battle
Based on a true story, Enough of Him, explores the life of Joseph Knight, an African man enslaved by plantation owner Sir John Wedderburn and brought to Scotland to serve in his Perthshire mansion.
Knight became a notable figure in a landmark legal battle that saw him successfully appeal against a Scottish court’s decision that had reduced him to mere property in the ownership of his former master.
This victory affirmed that Scots Law could not uphold the institution of slavery in Scotland, a ruling that would make a profound contribution to paving the way for the abolition of slavery in Scotland/Britain.
Joseph Knight won his freedom in Perth in 1778, and on October 28 2022, playwright May Sumbwanyambe was invited to Perth Sheriff Court to speak on the story of Joseph Knight and the legal precedent set by his historic case, as they discussed the issue of slavery and how it impacts our modern world.
Welcomed by sheriff principal
Sheriff Principal Marysia Lewis said: “I was delighted to welcome May Sumbwanyambe to Perth Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Court, the court where Joseph Knight began his quest for freedom for perpetual servitude.
“The then sheriff depute, supported by the sheriff substitute found that “the state of slavery is not recognised by the laws of this kingdom, and is inconsistent with the principles thereof”.
“That statement was made in 1778 and yet the courts continue to be presented with cases involving modern slavery, people trafficking and smuggling in their various forms.
“Today the sheriffs in Tayside, Central and Fife have been considering not only the historical context of cases involving slavery but also exploring the complexities and complications of modern slavery crimes.”
What inspired Enough of Him?
As featured in The Courier last week ahead of the play’s debut at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Enough of Him – a new production from the National Theatre of Scotland – is a thrilling exploration of power and its attendant tensions: between those who are enslaved and those who are free, servants and masters, and husbands and wives.
In an interview with The Courier, Edinburgh-born writer May Sumbwanyambe explained how he was doing his law degree in Leeds when he first became fascinated with archival court cases that shone the light on “factual” black lives.
But it wasn’t until many years later when the National Theatre of Scotland commissioned him that he began to think seriously about writing a piece that reflected the “non-editorialised” contribution of black people to British society over the centuries.
Sumbwanyambe previously wrote The Trial of Joseph Knight – a drama focussing on the trial and its case, which was broadcast as a radio play on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.
Along with other plays he’s working on at the moment, he has ambitions to “essentially re-write Scotland’s story from the 1770s all the way to 1960 but through the point of view of Scotland’s black sons and daughters”.
He says that all too often in the past, ‘black history’ and ‘British history’ have been perceived as two different things.
The reality, he says, is that they are all one and the same thing.
How to get tickets?
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