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Monday, 12 October
Black History Month UK
Show Spotlight
Artist Interview
Inclusivity
As we recognise Black History Month, our latest blog takes a closer look at Townsend Productions’ powerful new show, Farewell Leicester Square and the remarkable true story behind it.
The production brings to life the story of Joe Clough, a pioneering figure whose resilience and quiet determination helped break down barriers long before the arrival of the Windrush generation. Facing prejudice with dignity and courage, Joe forged a path through a society that presented countless challenges, leaving a legacy that continues to resonate today.
Read on to discover more about Joe’s extraordinary life, the story behind the production and why sharing these stories is so important, both during Black History Month and beyond.
Find a performance of Farewell Leicester Square near you and book your tickets, here.
Tell us about Farewell Leicester Square and about the inspiration behind the play:
For over sixteen years, Townsend Theatre Productions have been lucky to work closely with many venues and organisations in partnership to create plays that have national appeal. Sometimes these stories are about a very specific incident or are of local significance, but tell a story that ripples across the nation.
The story of Joe Clough is one such story. For about five or six years we were an associate company with The Place Bedford. We rehearsed, developed and opened work there. Whilst we were there, it was suggested that we create a play around an interesting local character whose "claim to fame" was that he was Britain’s first black bus driver, and had been written about in articles and books, as well as having exhibitions dedicated to him in museums in Bedford and London, as well as mosaic murals on London’s transport system. Whilst discovering more about Joe Clough, we discovered that his story stretched across major world events, and that he was personally involved; and because Joe Clough was an early, pioneering immigrant from the Caribbean, his was a different, new perspective to be explored.
What was it about Joe’s character and his story that made you want to bring it to life?
To say that Joe was resourceful is an understatement. He was naturally curious about the world that he found himself a part of, and developed an independent spirit from a young age. Orphaned when he was very young and brought up in a rural orphanage in the hills above Kingston in Jamaica, he never let those circumstances get in the way of his energetic interaction with nature and the business of looking after the animals that were in his charge.
He developed a love of horses and would tend to horses injured or exhausted by sport at the nearby colonial polo club, which captured the attention of a local doctor, who then employed Joe to look after his horses. In time, Joe became a horseman and a driver of carriages through the streets of Kingston. These early experiences clearly demonstrate a resourceful, bright and active young man who could see opportunities to make a future for himself, despite his difficult and humble beginnings. These are traits that he carried throughout his life and it is partly his fearless positivity that makes his story so beguiling and why it is an important story to tell.
The play explores some difficult aspects of British history but is also uplifting and full of humour. How did you strike the balance?
Joe Clough came to England from Jamaica in 1906 with his employer Dr White, and became a permanent British resident. The play explores aspects of early immigration, some of the racism he experienced in his workplace and how he confronted it, his particular journey through the First World War and how he settled into a mixed race relationship and family life in rural areas before times of larger scale and necessary immigration in the 1950s and ‘Windrush’.
Despite this, his story remains uplifting as Joe learns to deal with all these things with his accustomed humour and good nature. Joe is remembered with affection in Bedford, where he eventually settled with his family. His story a reminder that the history of Britain is richer and more diverse than often acknowledged.
Also, reflecting on the individuals who helped shape the transport systems and communities of modern Britain, Joe Clough’s name deserves a place of honour. When thousands of men and women journeyed from the Caribbean to help rebuild Britain and drive London’s buses in the fifties and sixties, few would have known they were following the path first forged decades earlier by a quiet trailblazer, Joe Clough. Breaking new ground isn’t always about grand gestures - sometimes it’s simply showing up, doing the work and refusing to be diminished.
What do you hope audiences will think about, talk about or look up after seeing the play?
After the 2020 toppling of Bristol’s Edward Colston statue, the ensuing public reckoning with slavery’s legacy and Black Lives Matter protests, this play could be considered part of the art and cultural ‘catch-up’ that has moved focus towards those marginalised in society, to place them stage centre. This project is an honest, intimate and human portrayal of Joseph Clough – Britain’s first Black bus driver. Although not a political person, the telling of his story is part of a much larger political crusade; a vital source of inspiration and empowerment from an authentic representation of pre-‘Windrush’ Black experience that gives voice to marginalised communities. It also re-evaluates history, challenges prejudices and contributes to a more inclusive cultural landscape. It is these broader themes that we would encourage audiences to consider and talk about having seen the production.
Describe Farewell Leicester Square in three words:
Uplifting, Inclusive, Inspiring.
Live music and storytelling are a big part of the production. How do these elements help bring Joe’s story to life?
It is part of our creative approach and style to make work that celebrates the lives of inspirational figures and important moments in Britain’s rich social and political history. Inevitably, that necessitates a powerful narrative and methods of storytelling that use every ‘trick’ to keep audiences engaged and immersed. Poetry and songs are brilliant devices to keep audiences on side while live music and songs can propel the narrative forward as well as entertain an audience. In Farewell Leicester Square we use songs from Jamaican traditional Mento, British Music Hall, Wartime classics, Calypso and Ska - all styles of song that ‘criss-cross’ Joe Clough’s life experiences and his lifetime.
We’re reflecting on Black history and overlooked stories. Why is it important to to bring stories like Joe’s into rural community spaces?
It reveals hidden histories of our collective past and brings Black history into rural touring venues and communities as an undeniably integral part of British history, reaffirming that it is not a story that just belongs to city or urban settings. By sharing Black histories in local and rural venues, audience assumptions can be challenged, perspectives broadened and meaningful connections can also be made across those audiences. It also ensures that everyone has he opportunity to see themselves and experience the history of others within the cultural life of their community.
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