An Edinburgh operetta is set to raise funds to combat modern slavery and people trafficking.
Two operettas by author Alexander McCall Smith and his musical collaborator Tom Cunningham are to be presented at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church in Edinburgh on Sunday 14 April for an evening of splendid music and drama in aid of a very good cause.
The double-bill will bring to life the true tale of The Tumbling Lassie – a girl declared free from effective slavery by the Court of Session in 1687 – and the romance of Fergus of Galloway, a dramatic retelling of one of the earliest known works in Scottish literature.
All funds raised by ticket purchases at the event will be donated to the Tumbling Lassie Appeal 2019, which raises funds for charities dedicated to fighting slavery and human trafficking in the present day, and providing support for its victims in Scotland and beyond.
The Tumbling Lassie Committee, which is made up of six members of the Faculty of Advocates, have raised over £60,000 for charity in the last three years.
The Committee will also host a seminar, ‘Bonded labour and international intervention in trafficking’, at the Faculty of Advocates’ Mackenzie Building on Saturday 27 April.
Chair of the Tumbling Lassie Committee, Alan McLean QC, said: ‘We are delighted to showcase this double-bill operetta in the heart of Edinburgh. The Tumbling Lassie is a tale steeped in the history of the city, dating back to a legal case which declared slavery illegal for the first time in Scotland, and still resonates today.
‘We thank two of Scotland’s finest artists – Alexander McCall Smith and Tom Cunningham – for their outstanding support to the appeal in this dedicated operetta.
‘Every penny we raise helps to tackle the evils of slavery and human trafficking at home and abroad, and we look forward to a productive as well as an enjoyable evening.’
Tickets for the evening are still available via the event’s website: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-tumbling-lassie-and-fergus-of-galloway-operetta-double-bill-tickets-56968396006
In 1687, the Court of Session in Edinburgh rejected the notion of slavery in Scotland. A young girl, known to history only as the ‘“tumbling lassie’, had been ‘bought’ from her mother and forced by a travelling showman to perform as a gymnast, until she managed to flee and was given refuge.
The showman went to court to demand damages on the basis of a written contract which he said proved the girl was his property. The judges dismissed his claim, with the only surviving report of the case declaring: “But we have no slaves in Scotland and mothers cannot sell their bairns.”
Find out more about the Tumbling Lassie – including how to donate – at www.tumblinglassie.com.
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