Paterson Joseph at the Bath Festival

 Five years ago, I went to Wilton's Music Hall in London, to see a one-man play, Sancho, an Act of Remembrance, written and performed by Paterson Joseph and learned for the first time about an extra ordinary man named Charles Ignatius Sancho, born enslaved in around 1729, who , after being brought to the UK eventually ran away, and, with the help of the Duke of Montagu, an abolitionist, learned to read, was employed by the Duke (eventually as butler) before starting his own business, owning property and therefore,  entitled to vote,  becoming the first (known) Black Briton to vote in an English General Election. He was also active in the abolitionist movement, a musician, composer, and writer. His portrait was painted by Gainsborough.

2 years after his death in 1780, a selection of his letters was published, making his the first published collection of letters by a Black British writer.

I Enjoyed the play, and was fascinated by his story, so went out and bought a copy of the letters, which were interesting.

Paterson Joseph has now written a novel,  The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho

He came to Bath, as part of the Bath Festival, so I went along.

It was an excellent evening - given that Paterson Joseph is a professional actor, it's no surprise that his readings were excellent, and the conversation, including a Q&A, very interesting. He explained that he'd become interested in Sancho partly because he wanted to be in a period drama and kept getting told that "there were no black people in England then", so started looking for a real person who it might be possible to use, which led to his one-man paly about Sancho, and on a more serious level, wanted an answer to the question he, and other black britons get all the time 'but where are you really from?', and to be able to look at  history in England, and how black people fit in, and have always fitted in. 

It was very interesting, and I'm looking forward to reading the novel (although I hope that he isn't planning to give up acting!), and I enjoyed getting to say hello when I got my copy signed! 

Sancho: An Act of Remembrance

My curiosity was piqued when I saw that Paterson Joseph, (whose work I've enjoyed since I first saw him as the Marquis de Carabas in 'Neverwhere', back in 1996) was going to be performing in a one-man show, in London. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how affordable tickets were, and curious about the venue - Wilton's Music Hall, which is a new one for me. The music hall is in Whitechapel, just off Cable Street,and dates back to the  early 1800 (although the buildings are older).

The performance is a monologue, told in the first person, about the real -life historical figure, Ignatius Sancho, who was  born on a slave ship, in around 1729. His mother died shortly after his birth, his father killed himself rather than endure life in slavery, and he was given as a gift to three sisters living in Greenwich, who saw him as a fashionable curiosity. They also considered that allowing him to learn to read would make him dissatisfied with his lot....

Despite these far from promising beginnings, Sancho managed to gain an education, following a chance meeting with the Duke of Montagu, whose widow later took him on as a servant, rising to become her butler.  

He became  writer and composer, publishing a number of plays, and became a friend and correspondent of many notables in Georgian society, including Laurence Sterne. His portrait was painted by Gainsborough in 1768, and later, after opening a grocers shop in London (and becoming a property owner) he qualified to vote, and became the first known black British voter.

It is a fascinating story, and Paterson Joseph (who wrote the script, as well as performing the monologue ) brought it vividly to life. 

He opens the show as himself, explaining that as a young actor he wanted to be in a costume drama, but was told that "in England before the twentieth century there were'n't any black people" (except, as he comments, the black centurions on Hadrian's wall, the emperor Septimus Severus, the 'blackmoores' whom Elizabeth I ordered to be expelled from the Kingdom), so he did some research, learned about Ignatius Sancho, and has written his own costume drama.. 

The performance 'proper' then begins, with Paterson, in character as Sancho, telling the story of his life, which is fascinating , poignant, and at times, very funny. He is wonderfully versatile, Sancho appears vividly, first as a small boy, a young man, enthused and mesmerised by the opportunity to learn, a disappointed thespian, through to the older, sadder man, plagued with weight and gout, mourning the loss of a child and but celebrating  his long and successful marriage, and finally, reaching the point where he is able to vote, casting his ballot in support of Charles Fox, abolitionist.

It's ultimately a highly entertaining and surprisingly, given the subject matter, uplifting play.

I'd like to go back an see it again, but sadly as the run ends on 16th June I shall not have the chance, but it you are in London, or can make it there, do go. 

Edited to add  - The BBC has a segment about Sancho and the show, here