Spirits of the Black Meridian
hidden, diverse pioneering stories of those global majority pioneers from the 18th Century to present day
A new promenade, immersive and interactive outdoor drama created by leading diverse artists, based on original archival research.
Spirits of the Black Meridian brings to life the hidden, diverse pioneering stories of those global majority pioneers from the 18thC to present day whose lives and contribution reshaped our culture, landscape, cities & world view forever.
Lines of longitude, also called meridians, are imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run north to south from pole to pole, but they measure the distance east or west. The prime meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England, has a longitude of 0 degrees. It divides the Earth into the eastern and western hemispheres.
In 1884 an international conference chose a line that ran through the telescope at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The decision recognised that the Thames estuary, Greenwich and the docks as the centre of global maritime power and trading routes.
That Empire wrapped itself around the globe, carving out new shipping lanes, linking colonial possessions and raw materials with manufacture at home. In the 18th and 19th centuries merchant shipping moved goods – and people – in and out of Britain. The Thames went out to the world, but it was also the conduit that brought people to us – the enslaved, freemen and women, adventurers, West Indian planters and lascars (sailors) from India, the African subcontinent and Asia.
Spirits of the Black Meridian sees Dervish bring diverse voices of Longitude to life, and connects them in a series of conversations through time and space using the imaginative playground of theatre.
Dervish’s 2025 production connects us today to the historical movements and unrepresented people whose impact and agency shaped the society, the culture, architecture and public spaces of the world we inhabit.
Devised and created by Awate Abdalla, Hassan Mahamdallie, Tyrone Huggins, Monique Walker, Fiona Whitelaw.
Scripted and directed by Hassan Mahamdallie
