Photograph of Giles Terera and Kiera Lester in The Meaning of Zong

Two hundred years ago, Olaudah Equiano read the harrowing reports of a massacre aboard the slave ship Zong, where 132 Africans were thrown overboard. Joining forces with anti-slavery campaigner Granville Sharp to publicly condemn these actions, he helped set in motion events which led to the abolition movement in the UK.

Based on true historical events, Giles Terera’s boldly inventive debut play The Meaning of Zong elebrated the power of the human spirit against adversity, and the journey of our past to understand our place in the world. Performed by an ensemble cast, joined on Stage by Composer and Musical Director Sidiki Dembele, it served as inspiration for how individual and collective action can drive unimaginable change.