A great idea that went nowhere. How disappointing. That this beautiful, wonderful idea was stillborn. Once Mlima was dead and hacked to pieces, the play ended. After the death the play descended into cliche situation and characters. And no drama. God. It killed me to sit there and watch. Not one good idea, not one promise fulfilled.
1
Got to love theater when it all comes together -- actor, sets, story. I hope this works.
I saw SWEAT and while the actors were strong, and the set realistic, the play did not really work for me. And I was enticed by overly enthusiastic reviews...
1
I thought it was interesting but unlike her other plays, the message here was a bit "spoon-fed". It did not seem to have a lot to say but when it did, made the point over and over again.
1
Readers of this review may be interested to know about changes in British law related to ivory.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/03/uk-to-tighten-laws-o...
American and Chinese law lags behind what Britain is doing.
1
I saw the last preview. The play is terrific, much different in structure than the more conventional Ruined and Sweat. The cast is great, too, in their portrayal of characters of different racial, national and class types ,(Ms. Aghayere is particularly uncanny as a fashionable nouveau riche Chinese woman). The analogies to the transnational commerce in African slaves is also expressed in the way the scarred Mlima (or his tusks) is displayed to buyers. If you afford a ticket (which is, after all, also a luxury good of sorts), see this play.
1
We gave ourselves souls and a heaven to forgive our greed and purge our guilt. Now we give souls to the other animals for the same reasons. That, darkly said, the play may be enlightening for our species.
4
Doubt the enlightenment. They are all asleep.