In 1791, a Vodou Ceremony begins the Haitian Revolution, to end enslavement on the island. In the present, a man is haunted by ghosts in his city. BOGEYMAN is a thrilling, genre-defying tale of hope, rebellion and connection within a broken system from writer and director Emily Aboud. This ghost story playfully combines music, movement and history in an underdog story of resistance against the oppressor; BOGEYMAN aims to empower and uplift and bring to life forgotten histories.
Aboud was inspired by feeling haunted whilst living in London, knowing that so much of its wealth and the ‘success’ of this nation, was built on the backs of enslaved people. She comments, Ghosts are real and living among us as debts, inherited trauma from the descendants of enslaved people and the wider capitalist system that can only function on mass exploitation.
It is important to note that this play is ultimately about community and empowerment. There is no world in which this show will traumatize the people it is trying to empower. It is about the triumph of the underdog.
Lagahoo Productions are interested in the origins of horror and how vodou has become a demonised religion through western stories. They are an award-winning theatre company who formed to fill a gap in representation, developing innovative new writing for and by Caribbean people, with a focus on queer, diverse work. Lagahoo makes work that celebrates the power of being Caribbean, whilst challenging colonial and sexist conventions.
They are a London Associate Company of The Pleasance and were previously a New Diorama Emerging Company and a Soho Theatre Young Company.
BOGEYMAN is an Edinburgh Associate show in the Pleasance Futures season.
