Playwright and historian May Sumbwanyambe is behind the play about Joseph’s four-year battle for emancipation. Written by Glasgow-based writer May Sumbwanyambe, this compelling domestic drama is a thrilling exploration of power and its attendant tensions: between those who are enslaved and those who are free, servants and masters, and husbands and wives. Rachael-Rose McLaren embodies the unloved wife of Wedderburn, turning to stomach-churning acts of self degradation to grasp the attention of her husband. For his part, Matthew Pidgeon spits insulting prose deftly. The twisted aristocrat crumbles as the play progresses and Pidgeon commands deadly silence as this unfolds.

Little is known about what happened to Joseph after the court case, but his work undoubtedly helped pave the way for the liberation of other enslaved people. Where and when is the play? He’s been using an analogy of capitalism with his actors in terms of trying to get underneath John Wedderburn’s skin and understanding how he might have seen himself as a ‘good’ person. People saying essentially like the country had been taken away from them, there was too much immigration, etc. Sporting a dual Scotland and Jamaica tone, sound design by Pippa Murphy and composition by John Pfumojena sees a joining of steel drums beneath Highland lyric, Burns’ Parting Glass song calling ahead to Knight’s inevitable departure. Lighting projected onto the portrait makes itself a character in the piece, transforming to red when Wedderburn is at his angriest and most dangerous, the trees blurring and changing to blues and yellows when Knight recalls memories of Jamaica or when boundaries blur. Enough of Him is written by May Sumbwanyambe and directed by Orla O'Loughlin and opens in Pitlochry before touring Scotland in October and November 2022.What I know is at that point in history, it was so complicated that there was lots of people so furious about that – it wasn’t a triumphant moment. It was almost like a defeat. For him, the interesting thing about the past and slavery is that on each side of the debate there are complex characters, and this has been reflected in the play.

Enough of Him is a thrilling exploration of power and its attendant tensions: between those who are enslaved and those who are free, servants and masters, and husbands and wives. National Theatre of Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre today reveal the full cast for May Sumbwanyambe’s historical domestic drama Enough of Him.

Man of empowerment

Sumbwanyambe previously wrote The Trial of Joseph Knight– a drama focussing on the trial and its case, which was broadcast as a radio play on BBC Radio 4 in 2018. It’s testament to the work of the National Theatre of Scotland that these stories are staged. Scots undoubtedly need to confront our history. Few mediums are as engaging – or as impactful – as this vital production.

Enough of Him is sharply directed by Orla O’Loughlin and given intelligently sparse and evocative design by Fred Meller and Emma Jones. It is an unforgettably brilliant work of drama, and a resonating indictment of slavery and the racism it bequeathed to our society. Despite its heavy plot, there are moments of real light in this otherwise difficult play. As King and Thomson kindle a friendship, moments of genuine relief for the pair mirror the position they would have undoubtedly been in. It pays off showing these less dramatic moments in rounding off the characters assembled before us. Two major productions turn the spotlight on this – namely Rona Munro’s immense James IV and now the National Theatre of Scotland’s Enough of Him – playing in much smaller spaces but every bit as powerful. Viewing Enough of Him is rightfully uncomfortable; enslavement is explored in painful layer upon peeling layer of Sumbwanyambe’s script. Here there is intense depth, and as the play, vitally, stays true to fact, the imagined dialogue gives voice and agency to the real late Joseph Knight. Performances from all four but especially from arresting Matthew Pidgeon as vile Wedderburn and powerful Omar Austin as subject of the piece Knight are searing. Your breath will catch in this proud moment for Scottish theatre.Enough of Him is about the life of Joseph Knight, who was bought as a slave by Scottish land and sugar plantation owner John Wedderburn in the 18th century. Joseph embarks on a relationship with Margaret's maid Annie (Catriona Faint) which sparks John's jealousy and his ownership over his life. Enough of Him is not an easy watch but nor should it be. The language is jarring and difficult to listen to. It's beautiful to look at with Emma Jones' lighting design and having it staged in the studio theatre at Pitlochry made it more intimate and intense. Even in the modern world, it’s very difficult to truly be a ‘good’ person when buying clothes that might have been made by modern slave labour, or when taking actions that harm the environment. Wedderburn supposes that Joseph should be grateful for his Scottish gilded cage, that he should be indebted to John for his learning and his survival of the physical brutality and fatalities experienced by other enslaved people. This suspension between frying pan and fire carves for Joseph his own, lonely experience of enslavement, where trauma and loss is wrought with survivor’s guilt and confusion. But after a successful appeal, judges at the Court of Session in Edinburgh made the landmark ruling that slavery was not recognised in Scotland and he should be a free man.