PRODUCTION
The Slave/The Tenant 1972
A double bill. Two plays exploring racial tension with family settings.
THE SLAVE
Walker Vessels played by Frank Cousins is a Black Liberation leader who in the midst of ‘the Revolution’ returns to the home of his white ex-wife and her new husband to claim his children.
THE TENANT
involves a landlord demanding an ever-increasing rent from his tenant and also involves a racial confrontation which leads to tragedy.
DATES
May 1972
PLAYWRIGHT
The Slave by Leroy (Leroi) Jones and The Tenant by Richard Crane
PRODUCTION TEAM
Directed by Ian Wooldridge
CAST
John Pullen, Frank Cousins, Jean Alcorn
UK TOUR VENUES
Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and a week at the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate.
PHOTOS
PROGRAMME
REVIEWS
‘For much of the time I had to work hard to focus on the passions acted out within this half-conceived framework. However, I was touched by Mr Cousins’ final burst of agony at the loss of the enemy without whom life was unthinkable’
Frank Cousins pointed out that the play The Slave attracted letters of appreciation about its theme from audience members
Richard Crane (the playwright) ‘makes good play with a landlord’s demands for higher and higher rent, longer and longer in advance, the more his prospective tenant’s colour impinges on him. This is excellently played by John Pullen with protectively hunched shoulders and prissy lips surmounted by a Powellite moustache’.
Production Title | The Slave/The Tenant (double bill) |
Plot summary | A double bill. Two plays exploring racial tension with family settings. |
Plot | The Slave – Walker Vessels played by Frank Cousins is a Black Liberation leader who in the midst of ‘the Revolution’ returns to the home of his white ex-wife and her new husband to claim his children. The Tenant, involves a landlord demanding an ever-increasing rent from his tenant and also involves a racial confrontation which leads to tragedy. |
Year | May 1972 |
Playwright | The Slave by Leroy (Leroi) Jones and The Tenant by Richard Crane |
Production Team | Directed by Ian Wooldridge |
Cast | John Pullen, Frank Cousins, Jean Alcorn |
UK Tour Venues | Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and a week at the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate |
Media Attachments (e.g. photos, programme) | A programme 12 photographs |
Reviews (quotes from) | A review of The Slave in The Times by Charles Lewsen, ‘For much of the time I had to work hard to focus on the passions acted out within this half-conceived framework. However, I was touched by Mr Cousins’ final burst of agony at the loss of the enemy without whom life was unthinkable’
Guardian 27 October 1972 article by Michael Morris, Frank Cousins pointed out that the play The Slave attracted letters of appreciation about its theme from audience members.
The Tenant, reviewed by Charles Lewsen in The Times: Richard Crane (the playwright) ‘makes good play with a landlord’s demands for higher and higher rent, longer and longer in advance, the more his prospective tenant’s colour impinges on him. This is excellently played by John Pullen with protectively hunched shoulders and prissy lips surmounted by a Powellite moustache’. |