When Will first mentioned that we where looking at colonization and the influence of the British (Freetown) I have to be honest, I didn't know that much about Sierra Leone. Even when we kept talking about it I got very confused, so I came home and researched what went down there.
I found out that Sierra Leone was first colonized in 1787 when the British founded Freetown ( which is not the capital ) as a place of refuge for the Africans who had been freed from slavery. The 'coastal region' became a British colony in 1808. Independence was achieved in 1961.
The 'black poor' that arrived of the coast of Sierra Leone were accompanied by British tradesmen.
I think it is important in our piece to contextualize our theme, make sure we give the audience enough information to understand whats going on in our abridged version. With this in mind Will had researched real life people interlinked with the happenings in Freetown and mirrored our characters off them.
Prospero is infused with John Glover, but we also wanted Prospero to be a 'chemist' who emits drugs as his sorcery. Prospero's security is having control with substances.
Caliban is reflective of Reverend Samuel Crowther: In 1864, Crowther was ordained as the first African bishop of the Anglican Church. In our version we want him to be forced to be in service to Prospero.
Ariel is usually portrayed as an impish fairy-like creature who is messenger to Prospero and personal companion. In our version we wanted him to be an indigenous Sierra Leone character who had the physicality of a strong African man who could switch and fightback against Prospero (possibly even overthrow)
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