The first act's rising tension and ultimate explosion had excellent payoff, both in humor and gut-punches when it all comes together and realize just The first act's rising tension and ultimate explosion had excellent payoff, both in humor and gut-punches when it all comes together and realize just what everyone's been talking around. The slip of Russ and Bev back into the trite small talk that permeated the slow exposition took on new meaning and worked really well. If the play had been a one-act, I'd have given it four stars, but the second act dragged it back down to a three. Act II has the same slow exposition as Act I and the same rising tension (you could literally feel itchy with the inane conversations the characters are all having while talking over each other, avoiding the actual topic at hand) but the payoff just isn't there and it's disappointing. What I think worked better in Act I was the weaving in and out of various characters as they were introduced, left, and re-entered. Those interruptions flowed more naturally and allowed some breathing room for the introduction of the characters. In Act II, however, all the characters are introduced at once, and I found myself wondering too long what exactly they were doing together, how they were connected, etc. In the end, I still feel like some of those questions are unanswered. I don't really get how Tom was connected to anyone, and it wasn't made clear early enough that Kathy was Lindsey and Steve's lawyer. In fact, I spent a good chunk of time assuming that the house was Tom's, or that all the characters had somehow pooled together money to flip it. The meaningless conversation about the capital of Morroco lasted longer and felt much more meaningless than the way the etymology of Neopolitan was flipped in Act I. And I just—didn't get why these random neighbors were sitting in someone's empty living room going over (dis)approving of the new building plans? Like, why did Steve and Lindsey invite these neighbors over...? I don't know. It just didn't work for me.
I also found enjoyment reading it, but don't think it's Nobel Prize-winning worthy to me? And I'm still parsing out how I feel about it being in conversation with Raisin. On one hand, I like the contextualization of the price of the house and the widened scope of the issues of the 50s (such as soldiers returning with PTSD), but otherwise... it's connection to that masterpiece feels like a gimmick that misses the mark.
As a last note, I also felt like Norris's characterization of Karl Lindner was off. He's such a meek, despicable character in Raisin but has much more of a command of his intentions and voice in this, and it just felt too jarring. It's not necessarily unbelievable that he'd act one way with the Youngers and another around people he felt comfortable around; it just lacked that sort of transition for me to truly feel like he was the same person.
In a small mining town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mama Nadi reluctantly agrees to take on the responsibility for two girls, Sophie and SIn a small mining town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mama Nadi reluctantly agrees to take on the responsibility for two girls, Sophie and Salima, because her favorite traveling salesman Christian begs her to. He bribes her with Belgian chocolates and tells her their backstories: Salima was the concubine of rebel soldiers, ripped away from her husband and family and village. Sophie is "ruined," which means her genitals are mutilated from a violent rape. Mama Nadi runs a brothel/bar that's struggling to stay afloat as the world outside is being torn apart by civil war, and she plays a dangerous game as she welcomes soldiers from opposite sides of the fighting as paying customers. Things get more tense as we realize Sophie and Salima are taking bits and pieces of Mama Nadi's money and hoping to escape; Salima is desperate and depressed because she misses her daughter and also because she realizes she is in the early stages of a pregnancy as a result of the violent months she spent with the rebel soldiers. Christian keeps trying to woo Mama, but she isn't having it. The soldiers start catching on to her "aiding" the rebels and are increasingly threatening. Salima's husband returns and is trying to find his wife; Salima is troubled--she loved her husband, but he turned her away because she was essentially "defiled" by other men.
I'm impressed because Nottage went and interviewed women and put those stories to the page in a way that feels authentic and heartbreaking, but also incredibly hopeful at the end.
I think I just didn't really enjoy this translation. The text would change size and seemed to be all over the place, while the language was just too mI think I just didn't really enjoy this translation. The text would change size and seemed to be all over the place, while the language was just too modern. I know that made it an easier read, but I think I would've appreciated something that felt like it matched the tone from this time. I'm still learning about the text in class, though, so maybe that will make me rethink what I originally thought about it....more
Loading...
