The Marvellous Adventures of Mary Seacole

Cleo Sylvestre

• Publisher: Aurora Metro Books
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781912430604
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

Mary Seacole was a medical practitioner from Jamaica whose fame rivalled Florence Nightingale's during the Crimean War. Her offer to volunteer as a military nurse was refused, but Seacole travelled to the Crimea nevertheless, where she tended the wounded both on the battlefront and at the 'British Hotel'. In this acclaimed one-woman play, the true story of Mary Seacole is brought vibrantly to life, revealing how this fearless medical practitioner used traditional remedies to treat the sick and wounded, challenged racism in high places and won the hearts and minds of those she helped across the globe. Considered the greatest of all Black Britons, discover why and how she came to be so highly regarded, although she was an immigrant and a woman of colour in Victorian England.

REVIEWS

"You brought the spirit of Mary to life." – Zoe Gilbert, Florence Nightingale Museum

"Thank you for such an excellent rendition of Mary. It was truly brilliant." – Clive Soley

"Be prepared, Cleo Sylvestre will transport you back to the Victorian age and leave you thinking
that you had actually met Mary Seacole." – Dame Elizabeth Anionwu

CLEO SYLVESTRE

Theatre: Cleo made her West End debut in Wise Child by Simon Gray with Sir Alec Guinness for which she was nominated Most Promising New Actress. She then went on to be the first Black British actress to have a leading role at the National Theatre in The National Health by Peter Nichols followed by seasons at The Young Vic
including tours to Broadway and Mexico. She has performed in a wide range of theatre productions including touring with Northern Broadsides and Oxford Playhouse. For twenty years until June 2016, Cleo was joint Artistic Director of the award-winning Rosemary Branch Theatre.

Film: Cleo was in Ken Loach's films Cathy Come Home, Up The Junction and Poor Cow and has acted in
numerous tv shows from Grange Hill, to presenting Playschool, and guesting in the Christmas 2020 special of All Creatures Great And Small. She made several shorts for Isaac Julien including Vagabondia (Turner Prize shortlist), was in Kidulthood and Tube Tales (dir. Jude Law) and Paddington. In 2019 Cleo received the Screen Nation Trailblazer Award.

Music: Having made a record with the (then unknown) Rolling Stones while at school, she recently returned to her first love, music, forming the blues band, Honey B Mama & Friends, who have appeared at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Ealing Blues Festival among many other venues.

The Marvellous Adventures of Mary Seacole

Cleo Sylvestre

CHARACTERS:

MARY SEACOLE Early 50s

LADY ALICIA BLACKWOOD Middle aged, middle class

NARRATOR Male or female

Notes:

The play was conceived as a monologue. Characters may be pre-recorded as audio voiceover to facilitate this in production.

The music played when the audience is entering should be uplifting reggae, classical or Music Hall. This music should also be played after the show when the audience is leaving.

Music for the song ‘Forgotten Woman’ is available from Jimmy Andersen at: [email protected].

ACT ONE

Lights up on a bare stage with a projection screen. Slides can be used to suggest locations.

The play opens with the song ‘Forgotten Woman’.

Song:

What does it take to be a shadow?

A whole lot more than being a star

Only in death do we free these shadows

That followed us everywhere near and far

It may be strange that I don’t wanna let go

You know my troubles and my pain

Give me a reason why I should let go

You know my troubles and my pain

The strength of my life is the goodness of your soul

Forgotten Woman be forgotten no more

What does it take to be a hero?

A whole lot of eyes to see what you be done

How does it feel to be in trouble?

A whole lot better than being alone

It maybe strange that I don’t wanna let go

You know my troubles and my pain

Give me a reason why I should let go

You know my troubles and my pain

The strength of my life is the goodness of your heart

Forgotten Woman be forgotten no more.

LADY ALICIA

Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lady Alicia Blackwood and I take great pleasure in welcoming you today for the benefit in honour of Mrs Mary Seacole. Let us all remember that during the time of battle and fearful distress she personally spared no pains and no exertion to visit the field of woe, ministering with her own hands such things as could comfort or alleviate the suffering of those around her, freely giving to those who could not pay and many whose eyes were closing in death, from whom no payment could never be expected.

Mary enters carrying her bag of remedies.

MARY

Welcome! Welcome to you all, thank you all so much for coming, it’s heart-warming to see so many friendly faces here tonight. As you know, this year of 1857 did not begin well for me but I still thank the dear Lord for my many blessings. I may be as poor as a church mouse and my health could be better but everywhere I go, I see the smiling faces of old friends and that reminds me – it seems a long time ago now – of when I nursed them through illness. Only the other day while I was travelling on the omnibus, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Why bless my soul, I thought it was you! Aunty Seacole, ’pon my life. It’s William Mitchell from the 47th. Lost a few teeth and most of my hair since we last met. Good to see you again, Mother. Saved my life you did.”

How could I forget those piercing blue eyes and that smiling countenance? He was little more than a boy then, a new army recruit off the boat in Kingston and dying a few weeks later of Yellow Jack – that’s Yellow Fever. But I gave him my remedies and held him in my arms through the night and thank the Lord, he pulled through. And now, here in London, I see so many of our brave boys back from the Crimea. Why, this very morning I was coming from Leadenhall Market when I heard the tap tap tap of a crutch and a voice that soared above the hustle and bustle.

“Aunty Seacole! Aunty Seacole – slow down, won’t you!”

The last time I had seen Captain Herbert was at the siege of Sebastopol. His right leg had been blown off and he was bleeding to death but I managed to put a tourniquet on, praying to God in all that filth that he would survive. Meeting these dear men again brings such joy to my heart and that, my friends, that is something money can never buy.

Oh, but I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Mary Seacole. I am a carer, healer, herbalist, cook, pickle and jelly manufacturer, seamstress, would-be gold prospector – yes, I bet that surprised you – tailor, saleswoman, adventuress, hotelier and doctress. Well, an independent woman has to be ready for anything! But most of all I love to care for people and if I have to travel to do that, then travel I will do. As you can see, I also love to wear bright clothes and have a large selection of fancy hats and… but where were we...?

Oh yes – travel!

So let me take you on a journey now. We’ll go back to the beginning, shall we?

I was born Mary Jane Grant in Kingston, Jamaica, in 18… oops – I nearly let slip my age but let me just say that myself and the century were both young together. I am a Creole. What is that, I hear you asking? Well, I have mixed European and West Indian ancestry. I have good Scottish blood coursing through my veins. My father, Major James Grant, was a soldier from an old Scottish military family and to him I often trace my affection for a camp life, and my sympathy with what I have heard my friends call ‘the pomp, pride and circumstance of glorious war’.

My mother, Jane, was also a Creole and an able businesswoman. She owned and ran Blundell Hall, a boarding house in Kingston. She catered for naval and army officers and their families as ...