Quintessence Theatre Group of Germantown will host a new play titled “The Return of Benjamin Lay” from May 1 to May 18.

According to the play’s description, Benjamin Lay was a dwarf from Copford, England who emigrated to America and settled in Abington where he “lived his life as an activist revolutionary who fought and advocated for the abolition of slavery in Colonial America.”

Smithsonian Magazine published a 2017 biography of Lay, describing him as “the Greatest Abolitionist You’ve Never Heard Of”. An excerpt:

He was notable for his physique. Benjamin Lay was a dwarf, or “little person,” standing just over four feet tall. He was called a hunchback because of an extreme curvature of his spine, a medical condition called kyphosis. According to a fellow Quaker, “His head was large in proportion to his body; the features of his face were remarkable, and boldly delineated, and his countenance was grave and benignant. …His legs were so slender, as to appear almost unequal to the purpose of supporting him, diminutive as his frame.” Yet I have found no evidence that Lay thought himself in any way diminished, or that his body kept him from doing anything he wanted to do. He called himself “little Benjamin,” but he also likened himself to “little David” who slew Goliath. He did not lack confidence in himself or his ideas.

He built his own home, selecting a spot in Abington “near a fine spring of water” and erecting a small cottage in a “natural excavation in the earth”—a cave. He lined the entrance with stone and created a roof with sprigs of evergreen. The cave was apparently quite spacious, with room for a spinning jenny and a large library. Nearby he planted apple, peach and walnut trees and tended a bee colony a hundred feet long. He cultivated potatoes, squash, radishes and melons.

The play’s description continues:

It’s 2025. In the silence of a Quaker meeting house, Benjamin Lay (Mark Povinelli) – a shepherd, sailor, radical, and the British Empire’s first abolitionist – returns from the grave almost 300 years after his death, as feisty and unpredictable as ever. The four-foot “David” confronts the “Goliath” of slavery as he demands once again to be readmitted into the Quaker community that disowned him for ideas considered dangerous and disruptive. How far will he go to share his prophetic vision knowing the cost of protest?

Sweeping across the centuries and continents, The Return of Benjamin Lay is an honest and powerful exploration of the life of a radical who became one of the earliest revolutionary abolitionists. The play was first performed at the Finborough Theatre in London in 2023, produced by Arsalan Sattari Productions. It was hailed as “an important groundbreaking play” by Closeup Culture, while Broadway World praised star Mark Povinelli for delivering a ”riveting performance” as the titular radical Quaker. The rolling U.S. premiere co-production of The Return of Benjamin Lay is currently running at Playhouse Creatures Theatre in New York from March 14 to April 6 before it comes to Quintessence in May. The production appeared at Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh from January 31 – February 23 of this year.

“Philadelphia is a city steeped in history, and some know stories of the local little person who put on anti-slavery protest theater on the streets of colonial Philadelphia by covering himself in blood. Others have heard of the little Quaker who called out Ben Franklin for not joining the abolitionist movement,” shared Quintessence’s Producing Artistic Director Alex Burns. He added, “At a time when protest and civil disobedience fills our campus and town squares, Quintessence is honored to welcome Mark Povinelli and The Return of Benjamin Lay to share the extraordinary life of one of America’s first activists and change makers, a Philadelphian who risked all by standing in opposition to the leaders of his country and his Quaker faith to insist upon life and liberty for all.”

For tickets, you can click here.

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Images: Smithsonian Magazine, Quintessence Theater Group