In 1846 escaped slave and leading abolitionist Frederick Douglass arrives on a speaking tour of the UK. The West Country abolitionists are energetic campaigners with an international reputation. With Douglass’s arrival tensions between those who believe in radical direct action and those who favour more moderate approaches explodes and threatens the whole movement.

For Douglass the tour is fraught with contradictions. The battle to end slavery in the US is intensifying and he has been sent to Europe for his own safety. He is a passionate campaigner for the Abolitionist cause, but all the time he is aware that his wife and children are still back home in upstate New York. Suddenly a generous offer means he could be reunited with his family, but he is caught between his political commitments and his personal life, his happiness could also tear apart the movement he leads.

As relevant today as in 1846 “The Ocean Can Be A Bridge” examines the emotional fallout between people who believe in the same cause but vastly different forms of political action and the personal toll it exacts on leaders in the movement.