Lament for Sheku Bayoh

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17 November 2020 · Follow on Stagedoor

“The latest from National Theatre of Scotland, live streamed on Friday and Saturday from the Royal Lyceum stage in Edinburgh, is Hannah Lavery’s piece inspired by the life and death of Sheku Bayoh who in 2015 died in police custody in Kirkcaldy in Fife. His death is now the subject of a judge-led inquiry. The piece reflects on racism in Scotland today and asks whether Scotland is really a safe place.”

Overview

A young black man lost his life. Five years ago. In police custody. In Scotland.

Soon after 7am, on a Sunday morning - May 3rd, 2015, Sheku Bayoh, a 31 year-old gas engineer, husband and father of two died in Police custody on the streets of his home town – Kirkcaldy, Fife.

Bayoh’s family launched a campaign seeking justice and in 2019 a judge-led inquiry was announced to determine the manner of his death and whether ‘actual or perceived race’ had played a part in it.

Lament for Sheku Bayoh is an artistic response to this tragedy, an expression of grief for the loss of the human behind the headlines and a non-apologetic reflection on identity and racism in Scotland today.

Performed live at The Lyceum and streamed to you at home. Lament for Sheku Bayoh asks the urgent question, is Scotland really a safe place?

Warning: Contains strong language and descriptions of brutality and racial violence

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