Five Years With The White Man is the first theatrical adaptation of the life of A.B.C. Merriman-Labor, a satirist born in Sierra Leone who moved to England in 1904 and wanted to be known as the greatest writer of the Edwardian era. Co-written by Eloka Obi and Saul Boyer, Five Years With The White Man is a one-man play re-building Augustus’ story, performed by Joseph Akubeze.

We wanted to know more about the process the team went through in uncovering the details of Augustus’ life, and how they chose what to discard and what to run with in their staging. In their illuminating answers, Obi and Boyer explain how they came across this extraordinary figure, how their writing leapt from their rigorous research and collaborations with historians, and how they grappled with history’s hushed suggestions of queerness in Augustus’ story.

Run-Riot: How did you first hear about A.B.C. Merriman-Labor?

Eloka Obi and Saul Boyer: Saul stumbled across A.B.C. and his book, ‘Britons Through Negro Spectacles,’ while researching a TV project set in the Edwardian period. A.B.C’s story and his words felt too modern, too prescient, and frankly too big to play just a cameo in that other project: his journey demanded its own focus. 

We were all astounded that his work had not already been republished (Penguin has since re-released ‘Britons Through Negro Spectacles’ with an introduction by Bernardine Evaristo). Saul brought A.B.C’s text to Eloka, Sam [Rayner, who developed the concept with Obi and Boyer] and the team - and that’s where a conversation began out of which the play has evolved. It’s, in essence and spirit, a transcription of the conversation that this fascinating story inspired, filtered through our many perspectives! 

Run Riot: What do you find most admirable about him?

Oki and Boyer: Probably his sheer tenacity. Augustus managed against the odds, to travel from Sierra Leone to London, and make his name as a writer. He rose to cultural prominence, in spite of enormous financial, romantic and familial pressures - and best of all, his rich sense of humour echoes down the years - and give all of his extant writings that surprising cutting edge. 

Also, his ability to envision a future that did not yet exist and to take steps to make that come about in the world - through sheer passion - felt at once very relatable and deeply inspiring. Equally, his developing critique of structural oppression felt like it mirrored conversations we are having as a culture. 

Danell Jones’ autobiography, which we used to prep the piece, echoed many of our sentiments. She refers to him, at one point in his biography, as the ‘patron saint of the resilient spirit’. His constant reinvention in the face of dead ends was deeply poignant, and the spur to us to remember someone unjustly forgotten. As A.B.C. himself said, ‘one of my aims in writing, is not so much to be humourous, as to reveal such truths as may be best spoken in jest’. If this can be said of our play, we will have done what we have intended!

Run Riot: Can you tell me about your collaborative experience of researching his life? What surprised you most?

Oki and Boyer: It was a wild ride. We were quite free and anarchic in the process, writing there and then in short bursts, comparing work - then reaching for a book - then tossing it away and starting afresh on a different tack. Accommodating lots of different ideas, and breaking up what might have become a plodding historical tract - with something that spoke directly to now - was so exciting and has produced a show that really engages with history in a different way. 

This whole process helped us challenge much that we thought we knew about the past. Colonial history is so underexplored in the British education system, so our conversations with Melbourne Garber, Augustus’ great nephew, and Dr Joseph Bangura, shed enormous light on the complexity of the history, as well as distinct attitudes towards colonialism that existed in Sierra Leone during this period. 

Reading about exactly how Sierra Leone became a British colony was not surprising but it was shocking. Understanding how some of Freetown was populated, in part by the royal naval ships intercepting vessels transporting people who had been enslaved, and the understandable complexity of contemporary attitudes to Empire that resulted was also surprising. 

We realised that we could not hope to comprehend it all alone. So we decided to cast our net a little wider to invite collaboration. Initially, It felt quite scary to approach so many experts, including Danell Jones – Augustus’ biographer – in order to learn about the project we had embarked upon. But it was precisely these conversations that led to more understanding, and ultimately sophistication in the way we represented and mediated the past. It also helped make sense of A.B.C’s vexed perspectives towards empire. 

Augustus at one time served in the colonial army in Sierra Leone. But towards the end of his life, he began to reject the identity of a ‘Black Englishman’ and became closely associated with the Pan-African movement, changing his name to Ohlohr Maigi. Understanding the motivations behind these positions, and his developing consciousness, was thrilling - and felt like it spoke directly to many issues we as a culture are currently facing.

Run Riot: We know that Merriman-Labor got in trouble due to rumours of intimacy with a male friend. How much do we know about his life as a (I assume?) queer man?

Oki and Boyer: John Roberts was a longstanding room-mate of Augustus’ during his stay in London. After John’s death from pneumonia, Augustus ensured it was reported internationally: he published a touching tribute to him in the Sierra Leone Weekly Times. Augustus is known to have had other close male friendships. He never married, and no evidence remains of any romantic relationships with any women in his life. 

We know he did not return to Sierra Leone, in spite of many exhortations of his wider family to do so – and it stated in his books that ‘he had never loved, and never been loved’. From the already sparse details of his life, we built our narrative on what felt likely given the available evidence. Of course, our reconstruction of his personal life can only be that – a plausible reconstruction. But one that seemed to make sense to his biographer. 

His was a deeply religious background, and therefore we cannot say definitively what the nature of his intimate relationships was. But we wanted to reject the default assumption of heterosexuality in our telling. Our show is therefore a queer reading of this history. This is some we tackle in the show, head on, and in a rather unusual way… but no spoilers here!

Run Riot: How have you used all this research to create his life onstage?

Oki and Boyer: The research has informed a lot of the subtleties of the characterisation, alongside the set design, costume, props and aesthetic. One example where this came in handy was recreating the ambience of a market in Freetown for the young Augustus: the meat merchants teasing one another, the lowing of cattle, squawking of poultry – and again in depicting Augustus’ first impressions of London: the chaos, the confident tricksters, the cry of the milkman, the pickpockets, the din of of horse-drawn traffic. Creating these rich moments was so much fun. 

Many of the characters from our research leapt off the page, and into the script and soundscape. Beyond evocations of place, and heady atmospheres, our research principally influenced characterisation in the room. We were often reaching for Britons, Dannell’s biography and Dr Bangura’s monograph – and persistently finding inspiration in each for character motivations, and perspectives - to see with Augustus’ eyes. 

Run Riot: How do puppetry and Edwardian set design help you tell this story?

Oki and Boyer: A one-man show is a very tough beast! Particularly the way Unleash the Llama [the theatre company behind the show] likes to do them. We are all about multi-rolling, and creating a rich and populated world, which an audience can get lost within. But equally, we like to keep things fast moving - and making sure that a lightness of touch and sense of play and discovery remain. That’s why you will see simple objects - an anglepoise lamp - a globe - a fabric sheet - transform into a character, or help form a landscape, conjure a sense of place. 

We felt it was important to anchor the play in the period - while also giving the audience the opportunity to explore how these accoutrements of the past relate to us in the present. In short, we had a lot of fun suggesting ideas through props and object puppetry - that subverted traditional modes of historical storytelling. We wanted Augustus’ playfulness to come through not only in the text, but also in the creative ways we could tell the story. 

Run Riot: What is the one thing you’d love to know about his life that can’t be found in history books?

Oki and Boyer: The lost letters between himself and his mother – and of course, with John. We would also want to know how fighting on behalf of the colonial authorities in the House Tax War affected him, and how he reinvented himself in later years, to change his name – and live a different life. Also, why he felt he could never return to Sierra Leone.

Run Riot: What has been your favourite part of making this show?

Oki and Boyer: Collaborating with our wonderful performers, directors – and meeting so many wonderful people, historians, researchers and family members, passionate about bringing this long-buried story to the public. The sheer enthusiasm is overwhelming – and moreover, touching. We often feel the presence of Augustus somewhere behind the process, indefatigable, bringing his message once again to public notice.

Run Riot: There is still so much Black British history that remains largely forgotten by the public. Is there another figure whose story you would love to see unearthed and celebrated?

Oki and Boyer: I mean, there are so many. But to speak only of a few acquaintances and contemporaries of Augustus, who rose to public prominence in London in the years we feature in this production: fellow Sierra-Leonean composer Samuel-Coleridge Taylor, playwright and journalist Dusé Mohamed Ali and music hall artist Belle Davis… The list is enormous, and still waiting to be told, but those are just a few.

Run Riot: Is there anything else I should know?

Oki and Boyer: We are performing from the 28th February to the 5th of March, at the Vault Festival – and the play has been published by Nick Hern as part of the Plays from Vault 6, and are available for purchase at the box-office, in person or online. So please come and support!

Five Years With The White Man at the VAULT Festival, 28 February - 5 March 2023. To find out more and book tickets, please head here.