Mlima's Tale - Kiln Theatre
Sept 14, 2023 22:01:07 GMT
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bordeaux, drmaplewood, and 2 more like this
Post by Steve on Sept 14, 2023 22:01:07 GMT
Saw this tonight, and despite initial doubts, ultimately was massively impressed.
Lynn Nottage does something completely different and makes it work.
Some spoilers follow. . .
On the one hand, there's no drama at all in following illegal ivory from it's source to its end buyer. It's a foregone conclusion.
On the other hand, the characters are like notes in a piece of music (analogous to the way Ennio Morricone used human voices as notes in his music), the elephant's ghost is like musical counterpoint, and the stately, sombre, sweet and delicate music that actually backgrounds this piece, blends with the human voices to create a real sense of majesty.
In place of drama, there is tragedy. There is beauty. There is human weakness and corruption. There is strangeness. There is music. There is movement . There is dance. It all adds up to something simultaneously staid but unforgettable.
The blurb compares the piece with La Ronde, but unlike La Ronde, this play is less of a circle, more a straight line, like climbing Everest, where base camp is killing an elephant and the summit is the ultimate purchase of the ivory.
All the performers, 4 of whom play multiple roles, are effective and make an impact.
For me, Brandon Grace made an impression, imposing and frightening as the ultimate buyer of the ivory (who reminded me very much of the terrifying "Whiterose" from the TV drama, "Mr. Robot."). Pui Fan Lee also impressed me by imbibing the recognisable savvy patter of every market trader and car salesman since the dawn of time.
But the biggest impression on me was made by Ira Mandela Siobhan, as Mlima the Elephant, dancing, singing, roping, dragged reluctantly and moving sinuously and majestically round the stage, marking the other characters with a scarlet letter of complicity.
Less of a drama, I emerged from this feeling I had listened to a mysterious, majestic and magical piece of music.
4 stars from me.
PS: Running time was 1 hour, 20 minutes, without an interval.
Lynn Nottage does something completely different and makes it work.
Some spoilers follow. . .
On the one hand, there's no drama at all in following illegal ivory from it's source to its end buyer. It's a foregone conclusion.
On the other hand, the characters are like notes in a piece of music (analogous to the way Ennio Morricone used human voices as notes in his music), the elephant's ghost is like musical counterpoint, and the stately, sombre, sweet and delicate music that actually backgrounds this piece, blends with the human voices to create a real sense of majesty.
In place of drama, there is tragedy. There is beauty. There is human weakness and corruption. There is strangeness. There is music. There is movement . There is dance. It all adds up to something simultaneously staid but unforgettable.
The blurb compares the piece with La Ronde, but unlike La Ronde, this play is less of a circle, more a straight line, like climbing Everest, where base camp is killing an elephant and the summit is the ultimate purchase of the ivory.
All the performers, 4 of whom play multiple roles, are effective and make an impact.
For me, Brandon Grace made an impression, imposing and frightening as the ultimate buyer of the ivory (who reminded me very much of the terrifying "Whiterose" from the TV drama, "Mr. Robot."). Pui Fan Lee also impressed me by imbibing the recognisable savvy patter of every market trader and car salesman since the dawn of time.
But the biggest impression on me was made by Ira Mandela Siobhan, as Mlima the Elephant, dancing, singing, roping, dragged reluctantly and moving sinuously and majestically round the stage, marking the other characters with a scarlet letter of complicity.
Less of a drama, I emerged from this feeling I had listened to a mysterious, majestic and magical piece of music.
4 stars from me.
PS: Running time was 1 hour, 20 minutes, without an interval.
