A one-woman play that examines the rights of women in the first half of the 19th century will be performed during a February meeting of the Fox Chapel affiliate of the American Association of University Women.

“Fanny Kemble at the Slave Plantation” is a 40-minute production to honor Black History Month.

It is scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 14 at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church on the corner of Fox Chapel and Field Club roads.

Performed by Lydia Axelrod and produced by Ron Flucker, it is free and open to the public.

A famous British actress and author, Kemble married a wealthy Georgia plantation owner and grandson of a U.S. senator. At 25 she moved to Georgia and was appalled by the conditions of enslaved people at the plantation. She documented her growing abolitionist feelings in great detail.

Kemble’s journal provided a rich and disturbing account of life on her husband’s Georgia estate between Christmas 1839 and April 1840.

Inspired by Kemble’s words, author and actress Anne Ludlam crafted “Shame on the Devil” in 1980, a monograph play that examined the rights of women at the time as well as a description of slave treatment on the plantation.

“Fanny Kemble at the Slave Plantation” is an edited version of the original play and re-creates a scene wherein Kemble addresses an audience in a New England town with a thriving textile industry.

Axelrod, a professionally trained actress and motivational speaker, received her doctorate from Columbia University in school administration and has taught English and drama at the high school and college levels.

Flucker, the producer, was trained as a structural engineer but derives great pleasure from his “side gig” of writing and producing presentations.

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