MENTION the name Bert Samuels and, for many, noted attorney comes to mind. Add playwright, and some may be taken by surprise.

Samuels has combined his love of law and history to create The Trial of Governor Eyre, which opens at the Faculty of Law, The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, on December 3.

Samuels’ passion is palpable when he addresses the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865. It is the backdrop for his maiden theatre work.

“I wanted to celebrate the people of Morant Bay and St Thomas in a way it has never been done before. As a member of the National Reparations Committee, we wanted to mark the 150th anniversary of the Morant Bay massacre in a big way, and I just thought we needed to do this for the more than 400 persons who were killed and the hundreds of homes which were destroyed. St Thomas has never had any closure on this subject and I felt it was time to bring the governor to trial… no one had gone there,” he said.

Led by Paul Bogle, the Morant Bay Rebellion saw black workers protesting injustice and widespread poverty by taking to the streets. Governor Edward John Eyre declared martial law in the area, calling in troops who killed more than 400 residents.

Bogle and George William Gordon, who were hung for their involvement, are Jamaican National Heroes.

The process of moving a historical event to the stage happened in a very inorganic manner. As Samuels explained to the Jamaica Observer, he did not write the work, but rather spoke it.

“Once I had the idea, it was all in my head based on my knowledge of the subject and my 36 years of legal practice and understanding of courtroom procedure. The two historical documents I referenced were a letter from George William Gordon to his wife and a letter he wrote to the Colonial Office complaining about Governor Eyre. So one day, I got a court stenographer and with the use of technology, I just spoke out. And after three-and-half hours and four glasses of water, I had spoken the text, including the voices of 11 characters. This was then converted to a Word document.”

Samuels wanted feedback and he drew on the expertise of Professor Verene Shepherd, who was also a member of the Reparations Commission.

“Because of her wealth of knowledge on the subject, I knew she would have been a good critic, but there was still some trepidation. So I sent it to her and when we met, I asked ‘can it be used?’ and she responded ‘this is awesome’. She made some corrections to my original script… but these were more corrections to make it historically accurate. So she could provide the names of the characters and put it in a historical context.”

Shepherd then introduced theatre director Michael Holgate to ‘The Trial’. Holgate further tweaked the work by adding dramatic devices.

“It is a very interesting work; it’s what I refer to as mythical history as Governor Eyre was never, never tried, though he should have been, and that is what I am about. It shows how stories can be retold using theatrical devices based on who we are as a people, and ultimately for empowerment,” Holgate explained. “In addition, the process of bringing the work to the stage represents a merger of different ways to explore truth, as you have historical accuracy from Professor Shepherd, legal accuracy from Bert Samuels, and the theatrical accuracy that I bring to the project.”

As part of his drive to empower the people of St Thomas, Samuels ensured that The Trial of Governor Eyre premiered there in October 2015 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the uprising.

“I wanted it to be staged in a courtroom in St Thomas to give the power back to the people. So I wrote to the Ministry of Justice and obtained permission to utilise a courtroom in the parish. As we all know, our courtrooms have very little space, but we set up screens outdoors so the public could be part of the process. By the end of the performance, I was in tears and so was Verene — it was such a moving moment. That is what we hope to replicate when it opens next week at the Faculty of Law on the Mona Campus, which of note is a former plantation,” said Samuels. “We just want to educate students of history and law, as well as the general public on the evils of the colonial period, the callousness of Governor Eyre, so that we will never go down that road again.”

The Trial of Governor Eyre stars Bob Kerr, Hilary Nicholson, Brian Johnson, Stephen-Rae Johnson, Alicia Taylor, Susan Beadle, Renae Taylor, and Royane Green.