Rough Crossings

Caryl Philips’ epic play is adapted from Simon Schama’s historical account of the thousands of African-American slaves who escaped slavery in the American colonies to fight for the British cause during the American Revolution. Rough Crossings covers 15 years of history and traverses three continents, from America to Nova Scotia to England, and then on to Sierra Leone. We follow the journey of Thomas Peters, David George, and their fellow ex-slaves as they put their fate (some more willingly than others) in the hands of John Clarkson and the Sierra Leone Company. Clarkson is an idealistic naval officer who firmly believes in a multi-racial, eighteenth-century utopia, but the conflict between benevolent White liberalism and an emerging Black political consciousness and self-determination threatens to undermine the project. Running at over three hours, Rough Crossings is an ambitious exploration of racial identity, and the definition of freedom and home.