Insurrection – A Work in Progress

When the echoes of enslavement remain everywhere, how can we come together to understand its legacy?

Baritone Peter Brathwaite’s family history is one of millions across the world forged by the transatlantic trafficking of West African people. He is descended from the enslaved peoples who worked the sugar plantations of the Caribbean, and their British enslavers. Insurrection: A Work In Progress explores the history of resistance in Barbados through Peter’s personal story. Taking its cue from the radical folk traditions of enslaved Black workers, this new performance piece celebrates the human need to gather, move, make music, and tell stories amid and in response to oppression. With a subversive musical playlist featuring the suppressed folk songs of enslaved workers, British pro-slavery propaganda music and excerpts from 19th-century opera, this new, as-yet unfinished work introduces a vital new voice to the conversation about our shared past. The work is a collaboration between baritone Peter Brathwaite, director Ellen McDougall, writer Emily Aboud, and music director Yshani Perinpanayagam who is arranging the original material. The team will be joined by a soprano, and five musicians including percussionist  Rosie Bergonzi. The work is programmed by the Royal Opera and produced by Fay Jennett, with the support of Cultural Consultant Dr Stefan Walcott.