The Whip

Winner of the 2020 Alfred Fagon Award.

As the 19th Century dawns in London, politicians of all parties gather to abolish the slave trade once and for all.

But the price of freedom turns out to be a multi-billion pound bailout for slave owners rather than those enslaved.

As morality and cunning compete amongst men thirsty for power, two women navigate their way to the true seat of political influence, challenging members of parliament who dare deny them their say.

In this provocative new play by Juliet Gilkes Romero, the personal collides with the political to ask, what is the right thing to do and how much must it cost?

Juliet Gilkes Romero is a playwright and journalist. She has reported for the BBC from countries including Ethiopia, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Her most recent work is for the TV series Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle (BBC4), co-produced with Sir Lenny Henry’s Douglas Road Productions. Previously for the RSC she co-created Day of the Living, which played at The Other Place as part of the RSC’s Mischief Festival in 2018. She is the recipient of the Roland Rees Bursary 2019 named in honour of the co-founder of the Alfred Fagon Award and her play At The Gates of Gaza won the Writers’ Guild Best Play Award in 2009. Juliet has also written a political drama for a Limited TV Series. Her play The Whip was awarded the Alfred Fagon Award in 2020.