This weekend, following a year of research and development in conjunction with Beckford’s Tower and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, State of Trust performed a dance interpretation of the novel ‘Cane Warriors’ by Alex Wheatle to a live audience at The Arnolfini in Bristol.
‘Cane Warriors’ tells the story of Tacky’s Rebellion, an uprising of Akan people fighting for their freedom that took place in Jamaica in 1760, and included enslaved people on a plantation owned by the Beckford family. Viewers of the performance described it as “moving” and “powerful”.
The project was funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and is the product of a year-long collaboration between Beckford Tower Trust, Alex Wheatle and State of Trust. State of Trust is the charitable arm of production and performance company State of Emergency Limited.
The Arnolfini performance marks the completion of the initial collaboration between Beckford’s Tower and State of Trust. However, State of Trust are seeking funding and sponsorship for the development of Cane Warriors, to create a full scale performance in other parts of the country.