The Liberty Truck by Laurie Slade

The 2018 Kalisher play reading was another world premiere, by Laurie Slade this time touching on race and the law.

Colonial Kenya, at the tail-end of World War Two. A young European servicewoman is brutally murdered. A young African man stands accused. As the legal proceedings work towards their conclusion – is British justice itself on trial?

In a year which has already seen reports on the effects of racial bias in the law and areas of public life from David Lammy and the government’s Race Audit, The Kalisher Trust Theatre Event hopes to provoke debate about the present by turning its dramatic searchlight on a case from the past.

Cast List:

Speaker – Joe Harmston
1st Member – Eric Richards
Colonial Secretary – The Rt Hon Dominic Grieve MP
2nd Member – Mark Farelly
Cynthia – Olivia Darnley
Registrar – David Osmond
Martha. Court interpreter – Finty Williams
Muriithi. The Accused – John Kamau
Judge – Edward Fox
Daniels. Counsel for Prosecution – Simon Callow
Sgt. Fletcher – Mark Farelly
RSM Parker. Military Police – Eric Richards
Capt. Roe – David Osmond
Dr Drummond. Pathologist – Guy Henry
Steadman. Counsel for Defence – Hugh Dennis
Insp. Bains. Police – Mark Ferelly
1st Assessor – Ray Fearon
2nd assessor – Israel Oyelumade
3rd Assessor – Eugene Washington
Kikuyu Elders – Ray Fearon, Israel Oyelumade, Eugene Washington
Singer – Polly Meynell
Foley artist and pianist – David Osmond

Directed by – Joe Harmston

Thanks to Elaine Mbugua for help with Swahili transcription

We are indebted to Distributed Sound & Lighting Ltd, Photographer Charlotte Bromley Davenport and the numerous supporters whose quiet but vital aid makes this event possible.

The Liberty Truck by Laurie Slade

Date: 4 March 2018

Location: Middle Temple Hall

What the critics said:

Great theatre, like advocacy, is a conversation. Drama and law rely on the dynamic power of questions. The best evenings in the theatre are not the ones which confirm everything the audience expected when they walked in; they are the ones which leave people arguing about what they have experienced as they walk out.

 

Catherine Baski. Legal Hackette

https://legalhackette.com/2018/03/06/liberty-truck-by-laurie-slade/

Justice is about weighing the merits of a case. This challenging play was about weighing the merits of justice at a time when, without justification, the quality of justice depended on skin colour.

Max Hardy QC

Trust and confidence form the beating heart of fair criminal justice. The Liberty Truck tells the haunting story of one man’s lack of faith in those appointed to represent him in a system in which he could never have had had a truly fair trial and which killed him.  This is a story that resonates through the ages and should be told and retold

Mark Fenhalls QC

Conversations around race, law and justice have been taking place for a while, but The Liberty Truck was the first time I have seen these concepts explored in such a bold way at the Bar. I’m proud that the Kalisher Trust is playing a leading role in starting these conversations at the Bar.

Fatima Jichi

Gallery of images: