The piece is based on real life events from several years ago, when 20 year old Sophie Lancaster was beaten unconcious in her local park in Bacup, and died from her injuries days later in hospital. Her story is told by using the verbatim words of her mother, Sylvia Lancaster, interwoven with poetry written by Simon Armitage, which is written in Sophie's "voice".
Its a very powerful story because of who Sophie was as a person, and the fact that she was killed purely because she choose to look different. Since her daughters death, Sylvia Lancaster has campaigned for "Hate Crime" to include attacks against goths and other members of subcultures.
Sylvia Lancaster joined the cast for a Q and A after the show and spoke a little bit about her work.
The whole experience made me think a lot about difference, and how we are all different in our own way, and we choose how we express those differences. Everyone is going to review the show for their Arts Award, so we'll hopefully share some of the reviews from the group here on the blog.
Black Roses is produced by Royal Exchange, Manchester. Find out more about the play here.
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