It tells the 17th-century story of an Amerindian woman, Yarico, who saved the life of, and subsequently fell in love with, British merchant Thomas Inkle, who then sold her into slavery on the island of Barbados.

On board ship, the sailors take advantage of Thomas's gambling obsession and when he faces ruin provoke him to stake his own wife in “The Dice Game”.

Slaves in the woods around sing to try to give her hope (“Spirit Eternal”), but no-one can prevent her becoming the property of Governor Worthy and his wife.

At a party given by Lady Worthy where the planters and their wives gossip about relationships between white men and black women (“Chocolate”), Yarico collapses while made to recite Shakespeare to the guests.

Recognising that Yarico is pregnant, an older slave woman, Ma Cuffe, encourages her to live for the hope her child may bring (“Things We Carry With Us”).

As plans for that event and the escape hot up, Thomas returns and offers to buy Yarico's freedom (“Silver and Gold”) but she rejects him decisively.

On the night of the escape, Jessica, broken by destitution and her punishment, reveals the plan in the hope of winning back some favour with the Worthys.

On an island beach, much like the one from which she looked out to sea as a young woman years before, Yarico promises her child the story of how they came to freedom (“Spirit Eternal”).

The musical's set, and costumes (Sarah Beaton) have been largely influenced by the Caribbean plantation look to emphasize the origins of the story.

[9] Yarico Productions is working in collaboration with an arts and education organisation Trestle,[10] to design a telling of the story custom made for schools, in a workshop format.

The programme includes workshops and educational resources for schools, which provide teachers and students with the skills, and inspiration to explore and understand important social issues.

[15] Ginger Hibiscus critic, Howard Loyton, stated: “There’s a sense of frustration in the outcome of the story – though the ending is such a stunningly emotive piece of theatre that you’re halfway home before you realise that you never found out what actually happened”[16]