Performer Name: Tayo Aluko & Friends

Show Name: Just An Ordinary Lawyer

Show Description

“The British Empire was trying desperately to hold on to its colonial possessions by any means … and the foul would often override the fair.” Nigerian Tunji Sowande quietly breaks through multiple barriers to become Britain’s first Black judge in 1978. Also a fine concert singer and keen cricket lover, he muses on international politics and history as they affect the Black world from Africa to the USA and Britain, from the point of view of one who would rather watch sports, and spread love and peace through the medium of song. Recalling heroic sporting achievements alongside epoch-defining political events, Tayo Aluko follows the multi-award-winning Call Mr. Robeson with another “brilliantly put together history lesson delivered as art.” "A fascinating show" (4 stars) The Guardian “Powerful, informative, humorous and captivating” (5 stars) The Wee Review “Brilliantly … creates the picture of a remarkable, humane and forgiving man.” Counsel Magazine “A heady, absorbing mix” Camden New Journal “Groundbreaking … superb … extraordinary” Morning Star “Ingenious, novel and compelling” Stagetalk Magazine

No lighting supplied. Show can use stage lighting if it exists in venue. Otherwise, can perform under general lighting.
The show has a soundtrack playable from the company's laptop. A volunteer will be required to trigger sound cues by following the script. This will be rehearsed beforehand, probably for about 30 mins. It's quite straightforward.
A4 or A5 flyers available for overprinting. Digital material can be supplied.
Tayo Aluko. Writer, Performer, Producer. Tayo was born in Nigeria, and now lives in Liverpool. As a baritone, he has sung as soloist in British concert halls accompanied by orchestra, and has also sung in Germany, Ireland and Nigeria. He has performed lead roles in such operas and musicals as Nabucco, Kiss Me Kate and Anything Goes. CALL MR ROBESON won the Argus Angel Award for Artistic Excellence and Best Male Performer Award at the 2008 Brighton Festival Fringe, Best Actor, Best Original Work and Impresario Awards at the London Fringe in Ontario in 2012, and Best Solo Show at the Stratford-upon-Avon Fringe in June 2013. He has performed the play around the UK, the United States of America, Canada and Nigeria, and at New York’s Carnegie Hall in February 2012 on the occasion of his 50th birthday. His second play, JUST AN ORDINARY LAWYER, has been touring since 2017. It looks at the history of British and other European imperialism, and anti-colonialist struggles in Africa and beyond, through the eyes of Britain's first Black judge. It involves singing and a love for spectator sports. His third play, COLERIDGE-TAYLOR OF FREETOWN premiered in May 2024. The beautiful music of the famous Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor forms the background to an exploration of the history of European exploitation of Africa that led, in this case to the civil war in Sierra Leone, the birth place of the composer's father, in the 1990s.