About Placeholder

Saint-Domingue, 1790. One year and one day before an uprising of rebel slaves will ignite what is now known as the Haitian Revolution. At the theatre in Port-au-Prince, Minette waits, holding a seat for her white employer, but the auditorium fumes conjure up ghosts from her past. Set in motion by academic research carried out by members of the Colonial-Era Caribbean Theatre and Opera Network (CECTON), a cross-institutional endeavour chaired at St Andrews, this engaging piece takes as its starting point the idea that the gaps in the archives, the lacunae in the texts, and the holes in the narrative are themselves acts of violence and suppression.

 

Catherine Bisset’s writing debut and first solo performance, Placeholder had its world premiere at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in November 2021, as part of the Being Human Festival programme.

Placeholder was nominated for Production of the Year at the Framework Emerging Theatre Awards in 2021, longlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award for Black British Playwrights in 2022, and longlisted for the Kavya Prize in 2024.

 

Placeholder was published by Salamander Street in September 2023 and is available in paperback from the publisher’s website.

 

 

Written and performed by Catherine Bisset

Dramaturgy by Jaïrus Obayomi

Choreography by Yamil Cuedo Ferrera

Directed and produced by Flavia D’Avila

 

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Placeholder was kindly supported by a Research Network Grant from the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Collaboration, Research and Development Fund from the City of Edinburgh Council. Touch tours available on request.

 

Audience praise for Placeholder (Nov 2021 performance)

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“A masterful performance.”

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“Placeholder was almost certainly the most enthralling, captivating and thought-provoking performance I have seen for many a year.”

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“You have achieved more with this play than any manifesto or policy would.”

 

Professional reviews

“a marvel of storytelling – one which is implored for as many to see as they can” – 4 stars, Corr Blimey

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“Unique, rich, and fabulously performed” – 5 stars, Binge Fringe

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Placeholder is brought to you at Alphabetti through the support of Northumbria University and the MARGINALITIES research group in arts and design.