Sutara Gayle’s The Legends of Them will have previews at Brixton House ahead of its Edinburgh Festival Fringe run this summer, marking the 40th anniversary of the Brixton Uprising.
Written and performed by reggae star, actor and Brixton luminary Gayle, aka Lorne Gee, marking her Fringe debut as a writer-performer. The show is directed by Jo McInnes.
The Legends of Them charts the story of Gayle’s extraordinary life – a pioneering female deejay on London’s infamous reggae scene in the 1980s, Lorna Gee cut her cloth performing for the legendary Saxone, Coxsone and Nasty Rockers sound systems. A run-in with Linton Kwesi Johnson whilst waiting in the dole queue inspired her to write her first single Three Weeks Gone (mi Giro), which she heard for the first time on the radio whilst doing a stint in Holloway Prison.
Going on to have her hit single Got To Find A Way in the reggae charts for 6 weeks, Lorna won the BC Radio London Reggae awards 2 years in a row in 1985 and 1986, followed by the 1992 New York, Tamika Reggae Award for best female Deejay.
In 1985, her sister Cherry Groce was shot by the police, sparking the second Brixton Uprising – and this landmark event in British history provides the socio-political backdrop to this compelling story. In her darkest hour, Lorna’s brother – internationally renowned guru Mooji – takes her to India to experience her first Satsang (spiritual gathering) and it is Lorna’s spiritual encounter – with the three legends in her life as her spiritual guides, her mother, sister and ancestry Nanny of the Maroons – which frames this story.
Neither a conventional play or musical, The Legends of Them is described as a unique theatrical, shared spiritual experience.
The creative team includes dramaturg & co-creator Nina Lyndon, composer & musical director Christella Litras, sound designer Elena Peña, lighting designer Joshie Harriette, video designer Daniel Batters, costume designer Melissa Simon-Hartman, associate director Sam Curtis Lindsay, associate artist Martina Laird, production manager Toby Smith and company stage manager Sunita Hinduja.
The production originally premiered at Brixton House in September 2023, before it transferred to the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre for a three-week run in December 2024.
The Legends of Them now has three previews at Brixton House, as part of the Uprising Festival on August 7-10, before moving to Zoo Southside for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe later that month.
The production will also tour to Birmingham Rep, Home Manchester, Leeds Playhouse and Brighton Dome in October/November 2025.
Brixton House tickets here.