Slave was a big-selling book by Mende Nazer about her capture in the Nuba Mountains at the age of 12 , her enslavement in Sudan and Britain and finally her escape. Now you can see the play.

Recalls Caroline Clegg, artistic director of Feelgood Theatre Productions: “I read the book five years ago, and I knew I had to do something about it.”

Nazer, she says, had never been to the theatre and couldn’t understand how the story of her extraordinary life could be put on the stage: “But I’m persistent.”

Nazer found it shocking to see her life portrayed, particularly scenes such as the re-enactment of her seizure: “I was overwhelmed.”

Clegg adds: “I felt very strongly the need to get it right – for her, and for the millions of others involved in slavery.”

The point is underlined by the publicity for the play: “There are now ten times more people enslaved than at the height of the transatlantic slave trade.”

Clegg emphasises that she and co-adapter Kevin Fegan had tried to stay true to Nazer’s own story, as told in the book, rather than fictionalise it to add drama to an already dramatic story or to make it more “acceptable” to a British audience: “It’s almost like verbatim theatre”.

It also celebrates Nubian culture. Music and dance are woven into the production, which opens at the Riverside Studios in London on 6 September, and the opening scenes reflect what Nazer has described as her “idyllic childhood”.

Says Fegan: “In Mende’s culture they sit around the fire and tell stories. That’s what we’ve tried to emulate.” So it’s not an evening of depressing do-goodism: “It’s also a great night out in the theatre.”

The production offers another example of the way Nazer has turned her life around. It was premiered at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester late last year – and she hopes the money raised from those performances will enable her to set up a girls’ school in Sudan, through the foundation she set up in 2009. Conflict in the Nuba mountain region has prevented the work beginning.

The play is also helping push public attention to the continuation of slavery.

In a promotional video, Mende says, “I am lucky to have my freedom and I can have the voice to speak out for those who have no voice, at least to raise awareness. People can do something, and stop slavery altogether in Sudan.”

* Slave is at the Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, W6 from 6 September to 1 October (8237 1111), after which it will be staged at national and international venues.

+ Slavery – Break the Silence, post-matinee discussion with Mende Nazer, Caroline Cox, Aidan McQuade,
Mukesh Kapila, Riverside Studios, Sunday 18 September, 2pm, post matinee discussion with Mende Nazer, Baroness Caroline Cox, Aidan McQuade, Mukesh Kapila , .

*  Feelgood Theatre

+ from 23 August, Freedom From: Modern Slavery in the Capital, exhibition exploring the personal impact of human trafficking and slavery in 21st century London and the challenges faced in tackling it, including risks associated with the upcoming 2012 Games, free, Museum of London and Museum of London in Docklands, until 20 November. Info: Exhibition

+ More London events

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