Muscovado is BurntOut Theatre’s scorching new play about slavery in Nineteenth Century Barbados, written by emerging playwright Royal Court alumnus Matilda Ibini. A heady mix of sexual intrigue, piercing choral music and extreme racial tension, Muscovado provides an unflinching portrayal of life on a sugar plantation in 1808, accompanied by original music and atmospheric soundscape performed live by the cast.

Muscovado will be performed at The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool on 30th April. The performances are part of a tour visiting 15 cities around the U.K. with links to the transatlantic slave trade, including Hull, Bristol and Leeds; theatres and site-specific venues to include Stoke Damerel Church Plymouth and Danson House, Kent as well as Brighton Fringe Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Set between the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act and the abolition of slavery, Muscovado tells the interconnected stories of a planter family and their slaves, shedding light on the British involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Muscovado was commissioned by BurntOut Theatre following the discovery of archives relating to Artistic Director Clemmie Reynolds’ family, who lived in Barbados in 1800s.  Emerging Nigerian playwright Matilda Ibini recently became the youngest winner of the B.B.C. Writersroom10 Award, is supported by a Prince William scholarship including mentoring by B.A.F.T.A., and is Soho Theatre’s Writer-in-Residence.

Muscovado was first staged in 2014 at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and as part of Black History Month in the Clapham church where William Wilberforce campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade, gaining 4-star reviews and sell-out performances. The play was developed with historical support from slave trade expert Steve Martin, script development with Young Vic Theatre, and financial support from Arts Council England.

Tickets for this performance are priced at £9 with concessions at £7 and are available from the Lantern Theatre Box office.