The Malaga Ship: A Story of the Middle Passage
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On May 3rd, join Better Said Than Done at the Historic Blenheim Center for Antonio Rocha’s performance of The Malaga Ship: A story of Maine and the Middle Passage.
This event is free and open to the public. Suggested for ages 13+.
The Malaga was a 183 ton brig built in 1832, in Brunswick Maine, in a shipyard owned by Joseph Badger. The ship eventually found herself as part of the already Illegal transatlantic trade of African captives to the Americas, especially Brazil.
The Malaga Ship Story is a tour de force performance. Using his entire body and voice, Antonio Rocha sings, narrates, and mimes his way through this poetically toned historical tale told mostly from the perspective of the ship. The story vividly explores the reality and impact of the slave industry, which was the largest industry in the world in the 1800s. The story also has a deep connection to the performer, for Malaga goes to Rio de Janeiro – Brazil in 1845, where Antonio was raised in a biracial household over a century later.
Antonio Rocha (pronounced haw-sha), originally from Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985. Mr. Rocha’s unique and award winning solo fusion of mime and storytelling with mesmerizing voices and sound effects has been performed from Singapore to South Africa and many places in between, including 20 countries on 6 continents as well as in 44 US states. Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, Wolf Trap, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival, The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, Cave Run Storytelling Festival as well as thousands of school performances.
This event is part of the 2025 City of Fairfax Spotlight on the Arts Festival, running April 25 – May4, 2025.
This event is made possible by the generous support of the Fairfax City Commission on the Arts and Virginia Humanities.
