This production contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing, featuring fake blood on stage, references of sexual nature, death, slavery, torture and use of a stage knife.

There are moderate flashing lights.

Playwright Naomi Wallace returns to the Finborough Theatre which saw the production of her first play, The War Plays, and more recently an acclaimed adaptation of Returning to Haifa by Ghassan Kanafani, co-written with Ismail Khalidi. Her plays have been produced in the UK, the United States, Europe and the Middle East and include One Flea Spare, The Breach, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, In the Heart of America, Slaughter City, Things of Dry Hours, The Fever Chart: Three Vision of the Middle East, And I and Silence, The Liquid Plain, Night is a Room and two adaptations co-written with Ismail Khalidi, Returning to Haifa by Ghassan Kanafani and The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon. Awards include the MacArthur Award, Obie Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Fellowship of Southern Writers Drama Award, Horton Foote Award, Arts and Letters Award in Literature, and the inaugural Windham Campbell prize for drama. Wallace is currently writing the book for the new John Mellencamp musical Small Town. The second part of her Kentucky trilogy will be produced in France in 2024, and her play, Night is a Room, has been adapted for film and will star Ann Dowd.

Director Ron Daniels was named Honorary Associate Director after fifteen years directing many productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company including Hamlet (with Mark Rylance and another with Roger Rees), The Tempest (with Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance) as well as new plays by Stephen Poliakoff, David Rudkin and David Edgar, including Naomi Wallace’s Slaughter City and Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange.

Ron is a former Associate Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theatre where he directed productions including Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, The Tempest, The Cherry Orchard, Hamlet, and The Seagull with Mark Rylance. Other theatres include Othello (Shakespeare Theatre, Washington DC), Richard II, Richard III and Macbeth (Theatre for a New Audience), Naomi Wallace's One Flea Spare (Public Theater, New York City), Much Ado about Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew (Old Globe, San Diego).

Opera includes Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Carmen, and Don Giovanni, the world premiere productions of Daniel Catan’s Il Postino with Placido Domingo, Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star and Daniel Schnyder’s Charlie Parker’s Yardbird.

Film includes Naomi Wallace and Bruce McLeod’s Lawn Dogs (Executive Producer) and The War Boys.

He is a former head of the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University, where he taught acting and directing.

Writer and historian Marcus Rediker is Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. His "histories from below," including The Slave Ship: A Human History, have won numerous awards, including the George Washington Book Prize, and have been translated into eighteen languages worldwide. He is the author of The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist, co-author (with David Lester and Paul Buhle) of Prophet against Slavery: Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel, and producer of a prize-winning documentary film, Ghosts of Amistad, directed by Tony Buba. He worked with Naomi Wallace on her play The Liquid Plain. He is currently writing a book about escaping slavery by sea in antebellum America.

Set Designer Riccardo Hernandez’s numerous productions include Jagged Little Pill (Tony Nomination for Best Scenic Design of a Musical), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Tony Nomination for Best Revival of a Play) starring Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon, Indecent (2017 Tony Award Best Play Nomination – Broadway and Menier Chocolate Factory, London), The Gin Game with James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson, Porgy and Bess (2012 Tony Award Best Musical Revival), The People in the Picture (Studio 54), Caroline, or Change (2007 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and London Evening Standard Award for Best Musical 2006), TopDog/UnderDog (2002 Pulitzer Award Best Play – Broadway and Royal Court Theatre, London) and Parade (Tony Award and Drama Desk Nominations).

Riccardo has designed over 250 productions at most leading Regional Theatres and Operas across the US and internationally, over twenty productions at the American Rep Theatre, and over thirty productions at New York Shakespeare Festival and Public Theater.

Awards and Nominations include Obie Award Sustained Excellence of Scenic Design, Henry Hewes Design Award Outstanding Scenic Design, Princess Grace Statue Award, Princess Grace Grant, Drama Desk Awards, Connecticut Critics Circle, Helen Hayes Award, Audelco, American Theater Wing and the Boston Elliot Norton Award.

He is the Associate Professor of Theater Design at Yale School of Drama.

Costume Designer and Set Designer Isobel Nicolson is a Creative Associate at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury. She was a Resident Assistant Designer with the Royal Shakespeare Company 2019-2020.

Theatre includes Rapunzel, Camp Albion, A Christmas Carol, Moonfleet, Digging for Victory, The Miller’s Child (Watermill Theatre, Newbury), Lone Flyer (Hull Truck Theatre, Jermyn Street Theatre and the Watermill Theatre, Newbury), Jessie’s Tattoo Club (Bristol Old Vic Ferment), Queen Mab (Iris Theatre), Jabberwocky (The Other Palace and Theatre Royal Margate), Tis Pity She's A Whore (Sherman Studio, Cardiff), Dream (The Other Place and The New Vic Theatre, Staffordshire), Errol’s Garden (UK tour), Old Friends (Cambridge Junction and the Cockpit Theatre), D-Day75 (101 Outdoor Arts), The Witches (Watford Palace Theatre), Die Fledermaus (DEPOT and Spit & Sawdust Skatepark) and Bright Young Things and Stay Brave Brian Gravy (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds).

Associate Designs include My Neighbour Totoro (Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre), Island Nation (Arcola Theatre), The Velveteen Rabbit and The Old Curiosity Shop (UK tour).

Lighting Designer Anthony Doran is an acclaimed designer for numerous productions in the UK, New York and Europe. He returns to the Finborough Theatre following the critically claimed Scrounger for which he was nominated for an OffWestEnd Award.

Theatre includes The Cherry Orchard, Bluets (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg), In Real Life, Schatten and Orlando (Schaubühne), Killing It (Network theatre, Vaults Festival), Norma Jean Baker of Troy (Kenneth C. Griffin Theatre, The Shed New York), La Maladie de laMort (Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris), A Colder Water (Vaults Festival) and Asymptote (Laban).

Associate Lighting Designs include Greatest Play (Trafalgar Theatre) and Kuala Khan (Oily Cart).

Sound Designer John Leonard started work as a sound designer before the term was even coined in the UK. He was Head of Sound at the Royal Shakespeare Company and an Associate Artist, and has worked for most of the major theatre companies in the UK, including the National Theatre, the English National Opera, Hampstead Theatre, Almeida Theatre, Donmar Warehouse and extensively in London's West End, Broadway and on national and international tours.

Recent theatre includes As You Like It (Soho Place Theatre), The Sex Party (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Snail House, Night Mother, Wolf Cub, Cell Mates, The Meeting, Stevie (Hampstead Theatre), The Dresser (Theatre Royal Bath and UK tour), The Stepmother, 8 Hotels (Minerva Theatre, Chichester), Prism (Hampstead Theatre and UK tour), Blithe Spirit (Theatre Royal Bath, UK Tour and West End),Consent, Cocktail Sticks (National Theatre and West End), My Name Is Lucy Barton (Bridge Theatre and Friedman Theatre, New York City), Uncle Vanya (Theatre Royal Bath), Charlotte & Theodore, In Praise Of Love (Ustinov Theatre, Bath), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Bristol Old Vic, West End, New York and Los Angeles), Hand To God (Vaudeville Theatre), McQueen (St. James Theatre and West End), Firebird, Mr. Foote’s Other Leg (Hampstead Theatre and West End), Ghosts (Almeida Theatre, West End and Harvey Theatre, Brooklyn).

Exhibitions include those for The Tussauds Group in London, Warwick Castle, Amsterdam and New York,

He is the author of a renowned textbook on theatre sound, winner of Drama Desk and Sound Designer of The Year Awards and is a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, an Honorary Fellow of The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and a Companion of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

Movement Consultant Bill Irwin is an American actor, clown and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a number of appearances on film and television, and won a Tony Award for his role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on Broadway.

Irwin was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship in 1981 and 1983. In 1984, he was named a Guggenheim Fellow and was the first performance artist to be awarded a five-year MacArthur Fellowship. For Largely New York (five Tony Award nominations), he won a New York Drama Critics Circle Special Citation in 1988 and an Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award in 1989.

“An immersive and intimate masterclass in storytelling, led by an actor at the top of his game, and a must-see show I would definitely recommend to all.” Mark Hobbs, Adventures in Theatreland

“A remarkable piece of storytelling.” Owen Davies, Plays to See

“Mesmerising performance and a delicious script.” J², Close-Up Culture

“A potent piece of political theatre.” Michael Billington, Twitter

“A thrilling theatrical event.” Paul in London

“A complex and fascinating play.” Louise Penn, Broadway World

“A story worth telling, one worth going to hear told.” William Russell, Reviewsgate

“A fascinating story, well told.” Owen Davies, Plays to See

“As a woman with dwarfism, this is one of the few times I have been able to watch a theatre performance featuring a person of dwarfism and not feel embarrassment. At the end of the show I was able to stand up and walk out with a sense of pride.” Erin Pritchard, Disability Arts

“It is a must see.” J², Close-Up Culture

“Profoundly moving.” Simon Jenner, Fringereviews

“An important ground-breaking play about a key issue that scars our past and haunts the present (just think about the recent apology made by the Guardian newspaper concerning its founders’ links to the slave trade ).” J², Close-Up Culture

“Director Ron Daniels, actor Povinelli, and movement consultant Bill Irwin have created a special moment of connection with a historical figure who was surely a living Goliath, whatever his physical stature.” Louise Penn, Broadway World

“The actor, writers and theatrical team delivered a perfect production.” Erica Smith, Peace News

“Superb.” Simon Jenner, Fringereviews

“Captivating, questioning theatre.” J², Close-Up Culture

“Recreating a Quaker meeting room for the piece also provokes the audience to reflect on how the life and times of a slavery abolitionist from the 1700s has something to say about our current times of modern slavery, prejudice and ignorance.” Paul in London

“Thought-provoking, a glimpse into our embarrassing past.” J², Close-Up Culture

“A sharp reminder that yesterday’s impossible causes can become today’s inevitable principles – but that the journey is often made through shocking confrontation and personal sacrifice.” The Guardian

“Povinelli’s vigour and grace are brilliantly exploited by distinguished director Ron Daniels – his track record in the UK and the USA is formidable.” Owen Davies, Plays to See

“Energetic and evocative.” Paul in London

“A compelling conversation with a figure from the past.” Salterton Arts Review

“Great storytelling.” Mark Hobbs, Adventures in Theatreland

“Superbly written.” J², Close-Up Culture

“Wallace and Rediker have an important story to tell and, in Povinelli, they have found the ideal performer to tell it.” Owen Davies, Plays to See

“Mark Povinelli, who commands the stage with wit, physical energy, and style.” Louise Penn, Broadway World

“Mark Povinelli, himself a little person, delivers this fascinating monologue with great skill.” William Russell, Reviewsgate

“Mark Povinelli is amazing.” Michael Billington, Twitter

“Acclaimed American actor Mark Povinelli made his London stage debut in this incredible one-man play.” Mark Hobbs, Adventures in Theatreland

“Exceptional performance of Povinelli.” Dave B, Everything Theatre

“Povinelli gives a terrific performance.” William Russell, Reviewsgate

“Acted with real skill and energy.” Salterton Arts Review

“Povinelli has such a gift of mimicry and energy he makes every moment and character count.” Louise Penn, Broadway World

“Mark Povinelli gives an excellent performance.” Erin Pritchard, Disability Arts

“Povinelli’s performance in itself is a reason for going.” William Russell, Reviewsgate

“It was a privilege to watch Povinelli perform in such an intimate space.” Erica Smith, Peace News

“Lay is played by Mark Povinelli, President of the Little People’s Association. And quite magnificent he is.” J², Close-Up Culture

“An impressive performance.” Salterton Arts Review

“The show is directed by RSC Honorary Associate Director Ron Daniels, who did an incredible job.” Mark Hobbs, Adventures in Theatreland

“The use of both natural light and cleverly thought out stage lighting (by Anthony Doran) places us at sea and on land.” Louise Penn, Broadway World

“Despite being a frequent visitor to the Finborough theatre in the past five or so years, I’ve never seen the shutters open before. It was a delightful surprise to step inside and be greeted by an abundance of natural light streaming through the windows, instantly transforming the ambiance… It’s remarkable how the interplay of light can shape our perspectives and offer different interpretations. Either way, the Finborough looked lovely.” Dave B, Everything Theatre

“Alongside the natural light and set, there was also a great use of sound and lighting (sound design by John Leonard and lighting design by Anthony Doran).” Mark Hobbs, Adventures in Theatreland

“The Finborough Theatre has its windows open to the world outside in The Return of Benjamin Lay. The evening sunlight fills the theatre space, and a giant tree outside the building gives you peace and tranquillity.” Paul in London

“The Finborough is a tiny theatre with a big reputation. For this production, the audience of 50 sits in rows of banked seats and the actor has a performing space in front of three large windows that look out onto a busy London Street.” Owen Davies, Plays to See