Unheard Voices

Performance schedule

There is some use of historic language and meaning in these scenes.

Dido Elizabeth Belle, Before the Portrait

Written by Malaika Kegode
Directed by John Haidar

Time: 11:30 and 13:45 (15 minutes)
Place: The Great Watching Chamber, Henry VIII's Apartments

Help a young Georgian woman get portrait-ready and discover what it reveals about her life. 

Dido was born in 1761 in the Caribbean (no-one quite knows where). It is thought she was the daughter of an enslaved woman and Naval Captain. Brought up in Britain, there is only one known portrait of her. 

This scene is a re-imagined conversation, but the characters are inspired by real individuals.

Discover more about Dido Elizabeth Belle, Before the Portrait. 

Michael Shen Fu-Tsung, The Chinese Convert

Written by Theodore E. Hung
Directed by Andrea Ling 

Time: 12:15 and 14:30 (15 minutes)
Place: The Great Watching Chamber, Henry VIII's Apartments

Worlds collide when a Chinese Jesuit priest-in-training meets James II. Can respect overcome mutual assumptions? 

Scholar, translator and convert to Catholicism, Michael Shen Fu-Tsung became the first recorded Chinese person to visit England in 1687. 

This scene is a re-imagined conversation, but the characters are inspired by real individuals. 

Find out more about Michael Shen Fu-Tsung, the Chinese Convert.

John Blanke and Alfonso de Valdenebro, Unsung

Book and lyrics by Mahlon Prince
Music by Alanis Edwards
Directed by Grace Taylor
Music Director is Ashton Moore

Time: 12:45 and 15:00 (15 minutes)
Place: Great Hall, Henry VIII's Apartments

John Blanke was a royal trumpeter in the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII. He remains the only Black Tudor for whom we have an identifiable image. He is likely to have played here at the palace.

This scene is a fictional scenario, but the characters are inspired by real individuals.

Explore more about John Blanke.

Credits

Producer

Debbie Hicks

Debbie is an award-winning theatre producer and manager specialising in new writing, particularly musicals and experimental immersive contexts. 

Her extensive portfolio encompasses productions staged in the West End, on tour in the UK, and internationally. Current credits include: Jack Godfrey's 42 Balloons (Chicago, Salford), Irving Berlin's Top Hat (Chichester & UK Tour), and Kath Haling's Emma (in development).

Artistic Consultant

Alexander Lass

Alexander is an award-nominated theatre director. His work encompasses world premieres and timely revivals of classic texts and has been produced at venues including New York City Center,

Hampton Court Palace, JW3, Trafalgar Studios 2, and The Vaults. He celebrates our shared humanity through underrepresented voices, distinctive characters, and contemporary resonances.

Writers

Theodore E Hung

Theodore is a playwright from Hong Kong based in London. He has written one full length play which was presented in a rehearsed reading at Calder Theatre in 2023. He hopes to continue bringing more stories about the East and South East Asian community to British audiences.

Malaika Kegode

Malaika is an award-winning writer, performer and creative producer based in Bristol. Her work spans poetry, theatre and radio, and has been performed at venues such as Southbank Centre and Lyric Hammersmith. She champions working class and rural stories through creative collaboration and interdisciplinary practice.

Mahlon Prince 

Directors

John Haidar

John trained as a director at RADA and on the National Theatre Directors’ Course, before working as an associate at the Royal Court, the National Theatre and in the West End. His work ranges from reimagined classics to premieres of new plays, with recent credits including Hamlet (Bristol Old Vic), Richard III (Headlong) and Disco Pigs (Trafalgar Studios and Irish Repertory Theatre, New York). He also writes, including adaptations.

Andrea Ling

Andrea Ling is a director, writer and dramaturg working between theatre, film and installation. Her Bolivian and Chinese heritage informs her personal work, which explores the intersections of culture, colonialism and ecology.

Andrea was awarded the Genesis Future Directors Award in 2023 directing The Earthworks (Young Vic) and the Jerwood Live Work Award in 2021. She is currently Director Fellow at the National Theatre of Scotland.

Grace Taylor 

Grace Taylor makes her Hampton Court Palace directing debut with Unsung and is honoured to be bringing this rebellious story to the court of Henry VIII. Upcoming projects include Becoming Nigella (2025) and The Glamification of Loki (BYMT, Southwark Playhouse, 2025).

Previous credits include In Clay (Upstairs at the Gatehouse, 2024; Offie-nominated), Sister Act (ArtsEd, 2024), and The Hatpin Revival (Australia House, 2024). Associate directing credits include & Juliet (UK Tour, Germany) and Six The Musical (West End, UK Tour, Australia).

Music

Alanis Edwards

Alanis Edwards is a UK-based composer and music educator. Of dual heritage, she often fuses musical influences as they’ve been fused within herself, creating emotionally rich scores that explore identity, nuance, and transformation.

Music Director

Ashton Moore

Ashton Moore is a composer, musical director and Theatre creative based in Essex. 2025 credits include Play On (UK Tour & Lyric Hammersmith), Cry-Baby (UK/European Premiere, Arcola Theatre), and a workshop of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Royal Shakespeare Company/Kenny Wax Productions).

Ashton is the Musical Director and Vocal Arranger for The Harder They Come (Autumn 2025, Stratford East) and is also the owner, founder and Director of The Musical Theatre Centre in Chelmsford, Essex. He is delighted to be working at Hampton Court Palace for the first time, especially on a project as valuable and worthwhile as Unheard Voices.

Cast

Dominique Ollivier ~ Dido Elizabeth Belle
Eyum Priscilla ~ Dido Elizabeth Belle

Fred Fergus ~ Alasdair Kerr / James II
Florian Saturley ~ Alasdair Kerr / James II

Robin Khor Yong Kuan ~ Michael Shen Fu-Tsung
Trevor Lin - Michael Shen Fu-Tsung

Nick Delvallé ~ Phillippe Couplet
Rob Langston ~ Phillippe Couplet

Rumi Edozie ~ John Blanke
Tok Morakinyo ~ John Blanke

Tad Hapaguti ~ Alfonso de Valdenebro
Teddy Wills ~ Alfonso de Valdenebro

Stage management

Kate Foster
Theodore E Hung

Access information

Actors will be dressed in period costume performing as different characters from the past. They will be performing short scenes that you can watch.

These performances will take place in the Great Hall and Great Watching Chamber in Henry VIII’s Apartments. Both rooms are located on the first floor. If you need assistance with the lift, please ask our Palace Hosts.