This play has been assembled, principally by Robert Nemiroff, from the drafts Lorraine Hansberry left behind on her death in 1965. An earlier version was seen at Manchester’s Royal Exchange in 2001, but the overriding impression here is of an epic production by Yaël Farber of a text that explores both the divided individual soul and the bitterness of the colonial legacy.
The focus is on Tshembe, superbly played by Danny Sapani, who leaves behind a European wife in London to return to his unnamed African homeland on his father’s death. He finds himself torn between his old allegiance to a Schweitzer-like mission hospital, which helped educate him, and the clamorous demands of a freedom-seeking terrorist movement. The best scenes show Tshembe resisting the pacific overtures of an earnest American journalist, well played by Elliot Cowan, who has come to write a glowing tribute to the mission. When Tshembe tells him that the rape of a continent cannot be erased through a chat over cigarettes and whisky, the line raises cheers from the audience.
But, although Hansberry nails the flaws of white liberalism and colonial militarism, her play is very much a product of its time. In arguing that “Africa needs warriors”, it overlooks the dangers of civil war and the possibilities of non-violent resistance.
One’s intellectual doubts, however, are overcome by the sensuous sweep of Farber’s production, which deploys a revolving Soutra Gilmour set, the minatory hum of Adam Cork’s sound design, and impressive performances from Gary Beadle and Tunji Kasim as Tshembe’s brothers and from Siân Phillips, Anna Madeley, James Fleet and Clive Francis as contrasting facets of white interventionism. An imperfect play, with little of the specificity of Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman, has been given a near-perfect production.
- In rep at the Olivier, London, until 2 June. To buy tickets, go to theguardianboxoffice.com or call 0330-333 6906.
