Local work
Commissioned in 2001 jointly for the Clocks Back Festival and Lancaster LitFest, "Trade Off' was written in collaboration between local writers Ron Baker and Sarah Fiske, with music from fiddle player Carolyn Francis.

It was good to see this piece revived at The Gregson for this year's solstice celebration for several reasons.

First, it is a cracking good piece. The narrative duologue, in an episodic structure which reminded me of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood, portrays varied aspects of life in Lancaster's so-called ‘golden era' between around 1750 and 1830. This is when the (then) town was Britain's fourth-largest port, and developed from a "piddling little muck hole' to the most prosperous and fashionable place in Lancashire (this well before the later expansion of Manchester or Liverpool).

Slavery
We hear everyday tales from entrepreneurs, well-heeled families avidly awaiting their new – and black - servant. "Little more than a slave … treated almost like a family pet'. Ahah, that got the hackles rising. Also depicted was a family from out of town, off for a day trip into Lancaster to see the Hanging Procession. A striking, almost macabre cameo of the enigmatic Mrs Ritson recalled the seamier and less well-documented side of urban life under the four Georges.

There were street criers, Jane Austen-like gentlefolk, and a town villain whose propensity to petty crime rose in proportion to his opportunities for income as the town's prosperity boomed. Oh, and incomers. It seems some things do not change – remember that not Williamson, nor Gillow or Storey was from Lancaster.

The whole piece was framed and interspersed by the repetitive sawing and sweating of Tom and Sam, two young and sweaty labourers at "Gillow's woodyard'.

Words – and music
The stories were distributed between the two writers/performers, who delivered the rich, evocative text clearly and with the passion only seen in those who care to their souls about words or music. Completing the atmosphere, and underpinning the text, was the music for solo fiddle, which explored the range of the instrument to the full.

The music was carefully composed, collected and in a variety of styles from the baroque to folk and impressionism – with "Asda Price' jingles and a fine depiction of the wearisome sawing of the sawyers. Good to note that Carolyn Francis chose not to use vibrato, a technique which was not invented till the nineteenth century.

What price prosperity?
It was also good to see this revival because of its underlying message. The attractive, historic city we enjoy today was built on the profits from the excesses of capitalism and the greed of the time – like the Coliseum in Rome, the Taj Mahal and, some would argue, the Twin Towers of New York's World ‘Trade' Centre.

In Lancaster's case, it was the obscenity of the slave trade. Worthless baubles to West Africa, humans to the (European-controlled) West Indies, timber, sugar and other ‘luxuries' back to St George's (whose else?) Quay. This was all justified by an episode in the text from a businessman whose economic analysis of the time could be straight from Adam Smith or, more recently, the nearly-late Margaret Thatcher.

This ancient and subhuman practice was not formally abolished in these lands till the late 1800s, and can still be seen in the sweatshops of our cities, even recently in Morecambe Bay with illegal immigrant gangs ‘pimped' for huge and illicit gain by ‘entrepreneurs'.

Uncomfortable pleasures?
Yet slavery continues across the globe to this day (read the papers, how many call centres relocated this week, how much do Nike pay their trainer-makers?) – whilst we admire Georgian architecture, Mozart opera and Stubbs paintings. "Trade, Trade, Trade', comes the unrelenting cry we still hear today.

‘No pain, no gain', we hear so glibly mouthed. The discussion between audience and performers after this moving piece picked up on the issues I have outlined above, and more. We were all affected by the dramas and human life stories we had just heard, and for some present, this seemed a revelation.

"Bijoux apartments flourish where barrels of beads once waited shipment to exchange for slaves – and a new bridge both crosses and closes the river from the sea', the piece concludes.

Radio play
I was told that "Trade Off' has been performed on BBC Radio Merseyside. Quite rightly too because, like Under Milk Wood, which is subtitled "A Play for Voices', it is a radio play par excellence. A CD recording of the piece is available for £5 (Email: ), and I am looking forward to the text being published.

This is a world-class piece of drama whose light is under a bushel. It should be taught in all local schools and be in every library across the county. It merits a much wider staging. Just so we never forget those who died in pain, poverty and squalor, and those who –even in this place – exploit their fellow humans to this day.

Copyright © 31 October 2003 Michael Nunn