The Legends of Them

Written and performed by Sutara Gayle AKA Lorna Gee

Directed and co-created by Jo McInnes

Leeds Playhouse, 18 – 19 November 2025 and on tour

On stage is a stack of oversized speaker boxes decorated with lightbulbs: a reminder of my teen years following the Bradford sound systems. The audience filters in, the majority of them black. There is a buzz in the air. Sutara Gayle, aka Lorna Gee, begins her story with a pulsating energy at the speed of a runaway train, and we quickly connect to the convention that Sutara will be playing all the characters, as she switches seamlessly from one to the next with tonal changes in her voice and subtle physical shifts in her body. It is as if Sutara is possessed, a mere conduit for the spirit of these characters to emerge.

The Legends of Them is set in the subconscious mind of Sutara as she spends time on a silent retreat. Sutara’s memories weave in and out in a dream-like, non-linear fashion. She begins her journey as the high-flying, female reggae artist Lorna Gee, working in the predominantly male-dominated world of reggae, where she mixed with the likes of Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton and Ninja Man. Lorna Gee appeared invincible at first and won many reggae awards along the way, but the cracks soon surfaced as she crashed both emotionally and professionally.

At the heart of the play is Sutara’s relationship with herself and with the legends she speaks of in the play’s title: her mother, Euphemia, who came to the UK from Jamaica in the 1950s; her brother Mooji, a spiritual guru whose voice guides her through the play, with his words projected on a screen behind her; Sutara’s ancestor, Nanny of the maroons, who reminds her of her lineage; and her sister, Cherry Groce, who was shot by the police due to mistaken identity, and whose shooting subsequently instigated the Brixton uprisings.

The Legends of Them is deep and yet laced with light moments which bring us back to our own personal stories and raises the question: ‘Which stories are worthy to be on stage?’ This fresh take on one black woman’s journey is a reminder that more untold stories need a platform to be shared, and that encouragement must be given to writers to write their own authentic pieces. As Sutara says at the end of the show, ‘When the mind comes, let it.’

After the performance, there is an extension of the play in the Leeds Playhouse Bar & Kitchen, with local artists performing. Apparently, Sutara does this after the first night of the show at each venue: ‘a celebration of us’, she calls it. Lorna / Sutara takes the mic and sings the song I remember her for, ‘Gotta Find a Way’, which she wrote after the shooting of her sister, Cherry Groce. The crowd erupts. Such a warm, carefree time as we dance away on this cold Leeds city night, all singing in unison. This special moment reminds us that our stories may be personal but, as a community, we all share the sentiment.

The Legends of Them at Leeds Playhouse

The Legends of Them tour schedule

Trish Cooke

Trish Cooke writes scripts for theatre, TV, film, radio and she also writes children’s books.