Jubilee! - 2024
BBC radio - Drama on 3

As the dust settles on the American Civil War, a group of young black university students begin an extraordinary journey.

Made In Manchester's 90-minute BBC Radio 3 Drama, Jubilee! tells the story of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a choir peopled entirely from once enslaved young men and women and founded to raise money for their beleaguered university. These young musicians would go on to captivate America and Europe, perform before presidents and royalty and become international celebrities. Uniquely, the choir introduced Spirituals to the world – secret songs once sung on blood-soaked plantations across the South – songs that began the march to freedom.

Written by award-winning writers Garth Bardsley and Ray Shell, and starring major talent including Samuel West, Sophia Nomvete and Simon Callow, Jubilee! is directed by multi-award winning director Andy Jordan and recounts a remarkable, life-affirming story of hope - revealing once again the rich diversity of the African diaspora. In a contemporary world in which the immigrant is vilified and the poor subjugated, Jubilee! celebrates the bravery, talents, resilience and integrity of a group of people who originated from the cruellest of backgrounds.

By Garth Bardsley and Ray Shell

Ella Sheppard: Sophia Nomvete
George White: Samuel West
Professor Adam Spence: Kerry Shale
Henry Ward Beecher: Simon Callow
Benjamin Holmes: Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Laura White: Fiona Christie
Isaac Dickerson: Iman Marson,
Maggie Porter: Alana M Robinson
Lord Shaftesbury: Richard Clifford
Miss Wells: Lorelei King
Jennie Jackson: Gabrielle Friedman
The Duchess of Argyll: Catie Flye,
Minnie Tate: Lola May
Male Guest and the Railroad Superintendent: Garth Bardsley
Simon Sheppard: Ray Shell
Other roles were played by members of the company.

The London Voices singers were:
Rachel Oyawale, Angela Caesar, Layla Ley, and Christina Gill.
Melanie Marshall, John Gyeantey, Ken Burton, and
Themba Mvula.
Choral Director: Ben Parry
Original music: Sarah Llewellyn
Guitar: James Fox
Dialogue Editing:Andrew Taylor.
directed by Andy Jordan.
The Producer was Kurt Brookes.
Executive Producer, Ashley Byrne.
Jubilee! is a Made in Manchester Production for BBC Radio 3.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00202zc

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btw 2010 BBC Saturday Drama The Jubilee Singers by Adrian Mitchell
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