A POWERFUL dramatisation of the life of civil rights father Dr Martin Luther King is being staged at the Lawrence Batley Theatre as part of its programme to tie in with Black History month.
Huddersfield-based writers Mycil and Godfrey Muhammad and Amanda Huxtable have created “The Dream Comes Alive” script which will be staged in the Cellar Theatre at 7.30pm on Thursday and Friday October 29 and 30.
The play is a dramatisation of Dr King’s life and takes the form of an interview between him, played by Birmingham-based professional actor Delroy Brown, and Huddersfield’s own Linda Pascal, who plays TV newsreader Moira Stewart.
The performance is directed by creative director Amanda Huxtable.
The idea for the project came when Mycil and Godfrey took a family holiday to Atlanta, the home and birthplace of Martin Luther King.
Mycil explained: “This family vacation was an eye-opener and very uplifting and inspiring for both of us.
“We both came away buzzing with the idea of putting together this project to commemorate the life of one of the great visionaries of our time.”
While in Atlanta the family visited Dr King’s home, the Martin Luther King Centre, which is his final resting place with his wife Coretta. They also visited the first black owned newspaper, the first black owned insurance company, and a local black museum all based on what was known as the richest street in the world, Auburn Street.
Mycil and Godfrey are both directors of Solunar Horizon, which gained a £5,000 grant from the National Lottery’s Awards for All fund in 2008.
The company is keen to raise awareness of black history and the positive contributions of black people to society.
In 2007 Amanda and Linda were involved in a successful production “Reserve your seat, An Evening with Rosa Parks” with Linda playing the role of Oprah Winfrey and Kym Small playing the role of civil rights campaigner Rosa Parks, which was organised by Mycil and her team.
