WINNER: Summerhall Lustrum Award, Edinburgh Fringe 2024
SHORTLISTED for Holden Street Theatres’ 2024 Adelaide Fringe Award.
‘A hugely affecting piece that deserves to be seen by audiences beyond the Edinburgh Fringe.’ **** – Fest
‘A magnificent piece of documentary theatre.’ ***** – Edinburgh Reporter
‘Stirring stuff… an absorbing and resonant true story.’ – The Stage
Precious Cargo explores the life-long impact of the Vietnam war on children who survived it, through the experiences of Australian performer Barton Williams, Isle of Lewis musician Andy Yearley, and four other Vietnam war adoptees who grew up in the USA and the UK. The show was developed and produced by sruth-mara and directed by Fringe First winner Laura Cameron-Lewis.
In 1975, as the Vietnam war ended, thousands of Vietnamese babies were flown out of the country and adopted by families from Australia, the USA and across Europe, in an international humanitarian initiative called Operation Babylift. Many were children orphaned by war, but some had just been separated from their families in the chaos. Fifty years on, many are still searching for their biological parents.
In 2020 Barton began writing an autobiographical piece about his own experiences of growing up as an adoptee in Australia. After we introduced him to Andy in 2021, the project became an international collaboration, co-written and produced by sruth-mara and incorporating the voices of other adoptees from across the world.
With support from Creative Scotland, Barton, Andy, Laura and producer Andrew Eaton-Lewis spent 2023 developing the script to incorporate new writing by Andy and material from Andrew’s interviews with four other Vietnam war adoptees, while sruth-mara also commissioned Andy to write and record four original pieces of music for the show. With further support from Creative Scotland, philanthropist Mark Barbeliuk, and an Indiegogo campaign, sruth-mara premiered Precious Cargo at An Lanntair on 6 July 2024, followed by a Edinburgh Festival Fringe run at Summerhall from 1-26 August 2024. The production won a Summerhall Lustrum Award and was shortlisted for Holden Street Theatres’ Adelaide Fringe Award.
Performed by Barton Williams
Directed by Laura Cameron-Lewis
Original music by Andy Yearley
Produced by Andrew Eaton-Lewis
Production design by Robbie Thomson
Text by Barton Williams, Andy Yearley and Laura Cameron-Lewis
Interviews with Operation Babylift adoptees by Andrew Eaton-Lewis
Additional voice performances by Dòl Eoin Mackinnon (Andy),
Daibhidh Walker (Idris) and Adura Onashile (Toni)
Dramaturgy by Laura Cameron-Lewis and Andrew Eaton-Lewis
Operation, projection mapping and lighting design by Robbie Thomson
Musical sampling and loops by Laura Cameron-Lewis
Sound and video editing by Laura Cameron-Lewis
British Sign Language interpretation by Sabine Zielinska
Operated at Edinburgh Fringe by Dav Bernard
Production photography by Ralph Tonge
PR by Storytelling PR, Edinburgh
THANK YOU to the whole team at An Lanntair for their incredible support for this project, to all the Vietnam war adoptees who shared stories with us, to Robbie Thomson for helping to bring our ambitious ideas to life, to Creative Scotland, Mark Barbeliuk, Wee Studio and all of our Indiegogo supporters for making this production possible, and to Alex and Betty Macdonald for their inspirational kindness and hospitality.
Precious Cargo is dedicated to Judith May Williams, Betty Macdonald, and all the beloved parents lost and found.
Media coverage
Sunday Times
The Scotsman
Sunday Post
BBC Online
‘Fascinating.’ – The Guardian
‘A nuanced exploration of identity and belonging.’ **** – Entertainment Now
‘Sensitive and engaging… a nuanced exploration of a forgotten and unexplored side of history.’ – Fringe Review
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