The Return of Benjamin Lay

2025. In the silence of a Quaker meeting house,

Benjamin Lay – shepherd, sailor, revolutionary, and the British Empire’s first revolutionary abolitionist – returns from the grave almost 300 years after his death, as feisty and unpredictable as ever.

The 4ft “David” confronts the “Goliath” of slavery as he demands once again to be readmitted into the Quaker community that disowned him for ideas considered dangerous and disruptive.

How far will he go to share his prophetic vision knowing the cost of protest?

Sweeping across the centuries and continents, The Return of Benjamin Lay is a hallucinatory exploration of the list of a radical who became one of the earliest revolutionary abolitionists.

The award-winning London production, “an important groundbreaking play” (Closeup Culture), by decorated playwright Naomi Wallace and historian Marcus Rediker, features “a riveting performance by Mark Povinelli” (Broadway World), direction by Royal Shakespeare Company Honorary Associate Ron Daniels, and set design by the acclaimed Riccardo Hernandez. The play crosses the Atlantic in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man.

The Return of Benjamin Lay was first performed at the Finborough Theatre, London (Neil McPherson, Artistic Director), produced by Arsalan Sattari Productions.