The Ocean Can Be A Bridge Brings Bristol An Incredible Civil Rights Story

Riversmeet Productions brings a play to Bristol that explores the extraordinary life of Frederick Douglass.

Douglass was a social reformer, abolitionist and ultimately statesman in America in the 19th century.

Having escaped from slavery in Maryland in 1838, he went on to gain fame for his powerful oratory and antislavery work.

There is a surprising connection between Exeter in the south west and the former civil rights campaigner. It was found by Artistic Director of Riversmeet, Dr. Richard Bradbury. Whilst researching Douglass’ story in 2005 for a play commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, he discovered a reference to Douglass in a copy of the Exeter Flying Post stored in the Devon and Exeter Institution.

Further research uncovered that Douglass’ visit to Exeter where he did a speech, drew some of the largest crowds the city had ever seen. It was a fact Bradbury kept in mind for a future creative project.

The Ocean Can Be A Bridge was the result of that discovery. It’s been co-written by Bradbury alongside Dave Samuels. Dave is a Bristolian whose father Norman Samuels played an important part in the Bristol Bus Boycott.

Norman Samuels came to Bristol from Jamaica in the 1960s. He went on to become Bristol’s very first Black bus driver in October 1964. In pushing through those barriers, he inspired his other son Vernon Samuels to represent Great Britain in the 1988 Olympic Games.

Dave has continued to work driving learning and patterns of change through equality and inclusion. One such way he does this is bringing the legacy of Windrush to life whilst also exploring migration and the impact and legacy of empire.

The very first performances of The Ocean Can Be A Bridge took place in Exeter in 2025 at the Devon and Exeter Institution as part of Exeter Heritage Open Days. It then played at Exeter Central Library as part of Black History Month. Overwhelming public demand for the play saw an additional performance take place at the city’s Cygnet Theatre.

The play is now touring further this October. It will return to the Cygnet Theatre, then continue on to the Bridport Arts Centre before arriving at the Alma Tavern Theatre in Clifton.

The ensemble piece tells of Frederick Douglass’ arrival in the UK for a speaking tour.

West Country abolitionists are campaigning heavily, gaining an international reputation.

Douglass’ arrival at this time causes simmering tensions between campaigners who believe they need to take radical direct action and those who prefer a moderate approach. It threatens the entire movement.

The mood in New York – where his wife and children have remained – has intensified as the battle to end slavery in the US ramps up.

He soon finds himself caught between his political commitments and his personal life. His happiness is potentially about to tear apart the very movement he leads.

Riversmeet Productions says the play is as “relevant today as in 1846”. It explores different forms of political action and the personal toll it can take on leaders.

Bristol is an ideal city for performances. Its long history of Bristolian social justice sees the city take a strong anti-racist stance. Residents will always turn out in huge numbers to counter protest any attempted right wing action.

It’s the city where the statue of Edward Colston was finally pulled down and dumped in the Docks during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.

The statute glorifying his ‘philanthropic’ work as well as his name had been an insult to the city for too long.

So much of Bristol has been built on the back of slavery and the 84,000 African people Colston helped to transport. Around 19,000 men, women and children died on the journeys.

The Ocean Can Be A Bridge is the perfect piece of theatre for Bristol audiences to find.

Actor Brandon Benoit-Joyce plays Frederick Douglass. He’s joined by Joanne Rogers as Sister Patience Leigh and Maureen Casey as Mrs Sercombe.

The Ocean Can Be A Bridge is at the Alma Tavern Theatre 07 – 10 October 2026

For more information or to book, visit: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/almatheatrecompany/2271077

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