Sunday, May 6, 2018

Broadway World: Paterson Joseph is Sensational in SANCHO [Based on Life of Composer Ignatius Sancho]


Paterson Joseph as Sancho
Photo Credit: Robert Day


Paterson Joseph as Sancho
Photo Credit: Robert Day

Paterson Joseph as Sancho
Photo Credit: Robert Day

Composer Ignatius Sancho is 
featured at AfriClassical.com

Broadway World




With a breezy patter, Sancho regales us with, and acts out, his incredible story. Born on a slave ship, he is orphaned after his mother dies and his father commits suicide. Because of his easy-going temperament, he is whisked away to serve as the plaything for three maiden sisters in Greenwich. Balking at the lack of intellectual stimulation - reading is forbidden to him - he runs away to serve as butler to Duchess Mary Montagu, who nurtures his inquisitive mind with an education of the highest order. Upon her death, he is left with a handsome annuity, which he gambles away.

Jumping forward in time, Sancho speaks of his family life, his pleasure as a man of letters, and his new job as a grocery shop owner. But something is not right. Smoldering beneath his usual suave manner, is a twinge of agitation. It turns out that he will vote today, making him the first Briton of African descent to do so. As a Black man and former slave, this option is only available to Sancho because he is a financially independent male with property. But he cannot locate his papers which declare his status. Undeterred, Sancho shows up anyway. If he is challenged and found wanting, he will face imprisonment. The challenge comes, and the constabulary are summoned to cart him away for voting without proper papers. Just in time, his son arrives bearing the missing documentation. With tears in his eyes, exuding gratitude to the heavens, Sancho takes these papers, kisses them and declares his vote.

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