
BY NAOMI WALLACE & MARCUS REDIKER
DIRECTED BY RON DANIELS

THE RETURN OF
BENJAMIN LAY
2023. A Quaker meeting house on the Finborough Road – or is it a theatre?
Benjamin Lay – shepherd, sailor, prophet, and the British Empire’s first revolutionary abolitionist – returns from the grave almost 300 years after his death, as feisty and unpredictable as ever.
A 4ft tall “Little David” confronts the “Goliath” of slavery once again as he pleads to be readmitted into the Quaker community that has disowned him and who still believe him to be dangerous.
Now, “trembling at the edge of playing God himself”, how far will Benjamin go as he stares down his accusers?
Continuing a unique decade-long collaboration between multi-award-winning playwright Naomi Wallace and multi-award-winning historian Marcus Rediker, featuring acclaimed American actor Mark Povinelli and directed by RSC Honorary Associate Director Ron Daniels, The Return of Benjamin Lay sweeps across the centuries in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man.
★★★★★ PLAYS TO SEE
★★★★★ ADVENTURES IN THEATRELAND
★★★★ BROADWAY WORLD
★★★★ CLOSEUP CULTURE
★★★★ REVIEWSGATE
★★★★ NORTH WEST END
★★★★ LOUREVIEWS
★★★★ PAUL IN LONDON
WRITER
NAOMI WALLACE & MARCUS REDIKER
DIRECTOR
RON DANIELS
SET DESIGNER
RICARRDO HERNANDEZ & ISOBEL NICOLSON
COSTUME DESIGNER
ISOBEL NICOLSON
LIGHTING
ANTHONY DORAN
SOUND
JOHN LEONARD
STAGE MANAGER
MARTHA J BALDWIN
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
MARTHA J BALDWIN
PRODUCED BY ARSALAN SATTARI PRODUCTIONS
WITH FINBOROUGH THEATRE