Memoirs of a Slave Trader

Lose your soul; Make a fortune.

Synopsis

LOGLINE: Based on a true story. In an attempt to remove the stigma that is blighting his retirement, a charismatic slave trader documents his swashbuckling rise to fame and fortune on Africa’s west coast, offering a disturbingly familiar defence of a life built on exploitation.

After a series of misadventures, a young navigator, Theo, finds himself stranded in West Africa in 1820. Luckily, his charisma and gift for languages see him befriend the local prince, and he leverages this relationship to enter the local business, the slave trade. However, his rapid rise to prominence in the region is not welcomed by the traders who Theo is out competing. Their resentment ignites a violent conflict that sees the love of Theo’s life murdered.

With Esther gone, Theo becomes even more ruthless. And with his profits squeezed by the British as they step up their commitment to ending the illegal slave trade, the list of atrocities he commits grows. Haunted by the ghosts of his victims, Theo embarks on one last big deal before retiring and buying his own piece of Africa to rule over. However, just as the deal seems to be done, around him Africa erupts in violence as the ever growing demand for slaves triggers a brutal war. Everything Theo has is destroyed, including his new colony.

Memoirs of a Slave Trader provides a chilling insight into the day-to-day operations of the illegal slave trade, and like Lord of War and War Dogs, it explores how everyday people can convince themselves it is ok to commit atrocities and how governments and institutions benefit from them

Main Characters

Theodore Canot (Theo)

Slave Trader (French/Italian)

Theo is a charismatic, swashbuckling young man, the life and soul of the party, brave and decisive, a loyal friend and a fierce enemy. He is also a mass murderer, thief, pirate and a slaver directly responsible for the abject misery of tens (if not hundreds) of thousands. With his memoirs he seeks to justify his career and remove the stigma that surrounds him.

Joseph

Theo’s friend (English)

Saved by Theo from a murderous ship’s Captain when they are both adolescents in Africa, Joseph idolises his friend and is his constant companion from that day on. Wide-eyed and innocent, Joseph is slowly corrupted as Theo rises to prominence on the slave coast.

Seagram

Captain in the Navy (British)

A well bred Navy Officer tasked with stopping the illegal slave trade operating out of Guinea. Gets on well with the charismatic Theo on a personnel level, and to some extent, enjoys their cat and mouse battles as Theo tries to sneak his slaves past his blockade.

Ahmah-de-Bellah

Theo’s friend, a prince (African)

Theo’s closest friend after Joseph. In many ways Ahmah-de-Bellah is Theo’s equal when it comes to charisma, swashbuckling joie de vivre and flexible morality. Their friendship is the cornerstone of both their fortunes as Ahmah trades slaves with Theo for the guns he needs to wage war on his neighbours.

Esther

Theo’s lover (African)

The wife of the most prominent slaver in Guinea, Esther is a brave and passionate woman who falls for Theo’s charms and will do anything to be with him.

The Shaman

Theo’s nemesis (African)

Believed to have supernatural powers by the locals, The Shaman is a highly respected figure in the villages. He is hired by Esther’s husband to destroy Theo, and he sets about his task with relish.

The Setting

Memoirs of a Slave Trader takes place mostly on Africa’s West Coast in an area spanning modern day Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. When Theo’s first arrives, he finds an idyllic Africa that he falls in love with; however, as time progresses, the constant demand for slaves outstrips supply, and the only way to fill the pens is through bloody wars that turn Africa into a hell scape.

Idyllic Africa

One of the things that makes Theo so successful is that he genuinely loves the county he finds himself in, enabling him to form bonds with the local chiefs that the other slavers are unable to. Africa’s transformation from natural wonder to war-torn hell-hole mirrors Theo’s moral degeneration.

At Sea

Theo’s most swashbuckling adventures happen at sea as he evades the British Navy. His times at see also represent some of his worst attroicities. The Ocean is Theo’s true home: a place of romance and freedom one moment and uncaring violence the next.

Brest Prison

Brest prison is another duality that echos Theo’s personality. Whilst his crew suffer the extreme squaller of rat infested, freezing cells, Theo lives a life of relative luxuary with other high worth prisioners in the warden’s cottage, whilst his escape once again highlights his swashbuckling nature and the cruetly he his capable of.

The Vision

Memoirs of a Slave Trader walks a complicated path as the audience needs to both sympathise and be repelled by the naturally charismatic Theo and life and morality he portrays.

Tone & Atmosphere

The tone of Memoirs of Slave Trader begins as a lighthearted action adventure, but as Theo’s decent into depravity progresses and his attempts to whitewash his actions become less and less effective the tone darkens. By the end of the story with wars raging around us we are in a dark viseral horror with only Theo’s attempts at leaving the slave trade behind as source of light and hope.

Character & Costume

Historical detail in costume, language and behaviour is blended with contemporary elements. This controlled anachronism emphasises the continuity of Theo’s arguments and assumptions. The world of the play is the nineteenth century, yet its rhetoric feels uncomfortably familiar, suggesting that the logic used to justify exploitation has not disappeared only changed its setting.

Staging

The staging is deliberately spare and fluid, with shifts in location created through language, gesture and sound rather than physical set changes. A single shared space becomes a ship, a barracoon, a jail or a memory, reinforcing the idea that Theo carries his world and the justifications that sustain it wherever he goes.

The few objects that inhabit the stage are functional and charged. Ropes, crates and ledgers are constantly repurposed: a rope becomes rigging on a ship, a boundary line in a trading post, a noose in the barracoons. These transformations are visible and unhidden, allowing the audience to see how the same tools of commerce, order and efficiency are inseparable from the slavery that facilitates it.

Call to Action (coming soon)

Join Our Mailing List

Join the Crowdfunding Campaign