Fabergé at the VandA

 Not so long ago, my friend E suggested, that it would be fun to go to the  Fabergé exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum, lunching beforehand at Mere.

It seemed like an excellent idea, so on 2nd April, I made my way to London, and the three of us (E, our mutual friend A, and me) met up at Mere, where we enjoyed some delicious cocktails and food.

Cocktail

We lingered a little longer then planned so ended up getting a taxi to the museum, which was very entertaining.

I also found the exhibition itself interesting,although not necessarily one I would have picked for myself, without my friend having suggested it.

I had not appreciated, although of course I was aware of Faberge, that it involved a substantial business, I had always assumed he was a small craftsman. In fact, at it's peak, they had shops in 5 cities, and over 500 employees!

No photographs were allowed in the exhibit, so I can't share my favourites, but apart from the eggs there were lots of cigarette cases, model animals (including many made for the royal family here) and jewelry.

I particularly liked the enamelwork - there was a brilliant blue cigarette case, inlaid with silver and diamonds, (made, I think, for Mrs Keppel) 

There was a very economical multi-purpose tiara (you could apparently remove the head band and wear it as a necklace! ) and some items which looked startlingly modern.

The exhibition ended with the eggs, which are simply stunning - so intricate and delicate. I loved the peacock, and the very modern looking winter egg.

A lovely day. (And we may have gone back for another cocktail after leaving the exhibition, because why not!

The Meaning of Zong - Bristol Old Vic

 Back in 2018, I went to a workshop  performance / reading of a new play by Giles Terera, at Bristol Old Vic (I wrote about it here) It was a deeply moving event and I planned, then, to see it when it was produced as a full play. 

That was delayed, like so many other things, by Covid, but it's finally here and I went to see it on 8th April.

The play is about the 18th C court case of Gregson v Glbert . It concerned the slave ship Zong. It was an insurance claim - the ship's crew had murdered 132 enslaved people, by throwing them overboard, and made an insurance claim for the value of the dead, claiming that it had been necessary to throw them (cargo) overboard due to a shortage of water, in order to save the remaining people on board. 

The case was heavily publicised due to the efforts of Olaudah Equiano, (Played here by Giles Terera, who also wrote the play) himself a formerly enslaved man, and Granville Sharp, an abolitionist who was already well known for his activism and support of fleeing slaves. In the original trial, a jury found in favour of the ship owners, in the appeal, new evidence was produced which identified navigational errors by the captain or crew, and evidence that rain had fallen, sufficient to replenish the water supplies, before the final group of people was massacred. As a result, the Judge found that case should be re-heard. There are no records of a further trial, it's likely that the owners either reached a settlement with the insurer or chose not to pursue it, but the publicity helped to expose the inhumaity of the slave trade, and to increase support for abolition movement. 

The play opens in a modern setting, with a young woman (Keira Lester) in a bookshop, raising the concern that a book about the slave trade is shelved under African history, rather than, where it more properly belongs, under British history, and being brushed off by the staff, before moving to the historical setting of the Zong court case, interspersed with the stories of three of the enslaved women on the ship.

It's a very powerful play, and not easy to watch. 

The set and production, as well as the cast, are excellent - there are allusions to the legacy of the slave trade - wooded cases marked with the names of slavers such as Colston, and a moment when the hammer beams of Westminster Hall, where the court is sitting, descend and for the ribs of the ship - very cleverly done,and a visual reminder of how inextricably linked the establishment was with the trade.

Music throughout was provided by Sidiki Demele.

The run was fairly short but I hope that there will be revivals - if there are, it is very well worth seeing.