About This Show
When an elderly West Indian woman calls the police to confess to murder, it results in a shattering all-night vigil that brings together in one epic sweep every element of the African Diaspora. Set on the post-colonial West Indian island of Bimshire in 1952, The Polished Hoe unravels over one evening, but spans the lifetime of one woman and unearths the collective experience of a society informed by slavery.
Mary claims to have murdered Mr. Bellfeels, the village plantation owner for whom she has worked for more than thirty years. For most of that time, she has also been his mistress and is the mother of his only son, Wilberforce, a successful doctor. What transpires through Mary’s words and recollections is a deep meditation on the power of memory and the indomitable strength of the human spirit.
The Polished Hoe is based on Austin Clarke’s award-winning novel of the same name.
