BY SUTARA GAYLE AKA LORNA GEE
Supported by Arts Council England
Developed with the support of the National Theatre’s Generate programme
Written and performed by award-winning reggae star, leading actor and Brixton luminary Sutara Gayle AKA Lorne Gee, marking her debut show as a writer-performer, the production, directed by Jo McInnes, opens at Zoo Southside for Edinburgh Festival Fringe 19 – 24 August as part of Here & Now.
The production originally premiered with a run at Brixton House in September 2023 winning an OFFIE award for Best Performance Piece. It transferred to the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre for a three week run in December 2024.
The production tours to Birmingham Rep, HOME Manchester, Leeds Playhouse and Brighton Dome in October/Novemebr 2025.
The Legends of Them charts the story of Sutara 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 3 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 a unique theatrical, shared spiritual experience. Expect a no holds barred, intimate encounter with an outstanding virtuoso performer who conjures multiple characters in this epic story.
2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the shooting of Cherry Groce.
★★★★★ The Stage ★★★★★ Afridiziak
★★★★ Time Out ★★★★ The Times
★★★★ Financial Times ★★★★ WhatsOnStage
★★★★ Theatre Weekly ★★★★ Review Hub
★★★★ London Theatre ★★★★ All That Dazzles
★★★★ Musical Theatre Review
Miss Irie Monty Blind and Dennis Roe of raggamuffin sound system and record label Saxon, London, UK, 1987
Sutara Gayle says today “The process has been enlightening, challenging and therapeutic. Working with Hackney Showroom has been such an inspiration for me. I’ve learnt about trusting the process and allowing the story to unfold. I wrote the first draft whilst sat behind the curtains, dressed as Tina Turner’s grandma, during the run of Tina the Musical. There was something magical about being on stage whilst writing which enabled me to channel my own story.
“It’s been a long time coming and I’m so excited to share my story with the world. I’m on an onward journey, a journey that won’t stop until I take my last breath. My hope is that audiences come away feeling that they can embrace their own journey, take control of their own narrative and stand in their own power.”
AGE GUIDANCE
14+
CONTENT WARNINGS
Contains references to racism, sexual assault & drugs misuse
RUNNING TIME
70 mins
Hackney Showroom
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Sutara Gayle AKA Lorna Gee
instagram.com/sutaragayle
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