The Gift/Pomona

ArtsEd’s BA Acting graduates present a double-bill separated by a 15 minute interval.

The Gift

A subversive comedy drama about imperialism, cross-racial adoption, cultural appropriation… and tea.

Brighton, 1862. A day in the life of Sarah, an African girl, adopted by Queen Victoria and raised in the Queen’s circles. Today is the eve of her having to return to Africa but will she go?

The Present. A day in the life of Sarah, a black middle-class woman staying in a Cheshire village with her husband and small child. They are paid a visit by well-meaning neighbours who have something to confess…

The two Sarahs meet Queen Victoria for tea. This won’t be your regular tea party…

Content warning: This play contains adult content, including references of racial abuse and violence, blood and injury detail, explicit and discriminatory language (including that around race), and references to enslavement.

Pomona

I think I’d sleep a lot easier if I knew none of us would wake up tomorrow.

Ollie’s sister is missing. Searching Manchester in desperation, she finds all roads lead to Pomona – an abandoned concrete island at the heart of the city.

Here at the centre of everything, journeys end and nightmares are born.

Content warning: violence, blood, kidnapping/abduction, death, forced pregnancy, human trafficking, and references to pornography, sexism, sexual assault, suicide, and abuse.