Raffles - One Heart and Mind
Sir Stamford Raffles, a friend of William Wilberforce, was one of Britain’s most influential, and yet unsung, heroes of the 19th Century.
He was responsible for the abolition of slavery throughout the Far East and was an early protagonist of the humanitarian axiom that ‘all are entitled to enjoy the fruits of their own labours’ - the essential tenet by which Singapore, the country he founded and is most remembered for, has prospered to this day.
A great administrator and avid collector of animals and plants (he was a fellow of the Royal Society and the founder of London Zoo in Regent’s Park), his was a story of rags-to-riches-to-rags. He was eventually destroyed by the ‘Honourable’ East India Company for propagating a humanitarian philosophy that was way ahead of its time - a code which is now the cornerstone of all true democracies.
Raffles - One Heart and Mind is a brand new one-act play, written by the members of Act IV Theatre Company, whose action takes place over the last twenty years of Stamford Raffles’ life, and is set in the Far East, Calcutta, and London. Historical events are drawn from Raffles of the Eastern Islands by C E Wurtzburg and Raffles by Maurice Collis, together with more recent confirmation by Victoria Glendinning in her authoritative analysis of Raffles’ career in her 2012 book Raffles and the Golden Opportunity. Historical accuracy has thus been the prime objective of the theatrical narrative.
The original music is composed and orchestrated by Richard Cleghorn-Brown.
He was responsible for the abolition of slavery throughout the Far East and was an early protagonist of the humanitarian axiom that ‘all are entitled to enjoy the fruits of their own labours’ - the essential tenet by which Singapore, the country he founded and is most remembered for, has prospered to this day.
A great administrator and avid collector of animals and plants (he was a fellow of the Royal Society and the founder of London Zoo in Regent’s Park), his was a story of rags-to-riches-to-rags. He was eventually destroyed by the ‘Honourable’ East India Company for propagating a humanitarian philosophy that was way ahead of its time - a code which is now the cornerstone of all true democracies.
Raffles - One Heart and Mind is a brand new one-act play, written by the members of Act IV Theatre Company, whose action takes place over the last twenty years of Stamford Raffles’ life, and is set in the Far East, Calcutta, and London. Historical events are drawn from Raffles of the Eastern Islands by C E Wurtzburg and Raffles by Maurice Collis, together with more recent confirmation by Victoria Glendinning in her authoritative analysis of Raffles’ career in her 2012 book Raffles and the Golden Opportunity. Historical accuracy has thus been the prime objective of the theatrical narrative.
The original music is composed and orchestrated by Richard Cleghorn-Brown.
Cast:
Stamford Raffles
Olivia Fancourt Sophia Hull Lord Minto Lieutenant-General Gillespie Sir Joseph Banks Tunku Long William Wilberforce Dr. John Leyden Major William Farquhar Charles Blagrave Napoleon Bonaparte Rev. Theodore Williams |
Andy Pritchard
Helen Barter Richard Cleghorn-Brown Dave Headey |
Other parts played by members of the company
Crew:
Lighting and sound
Costumes & Props Set design and construction |
Peter Baillie and Tara Pritchard
Beth Pryor Andrew and Helen Hebbs |
Thanks to Mark Loasby for photos of Raffles - One Heart and Mind at the Old Rectory, Quenington