We are in an unspecified African country (hints of Zimbabwe and Uganda, and definitely more than a whiff of South Africa), although the country is unimportant since the isssues the play tackles are present in majority of African countries, especially central and south, as Lorraine Hansberry's last play, 'Les Blancs' (The Whites) takes on the uncomfortable and challenging issues of white colonialism, black uprising, nationalism, and racism, but puts so much more into the pot as well: Norwegian doctors with black friends, patients, and parts of the family; a well-travelled and well-educated black man with a white wife and young child back home in England; a black man who converts to catholicism and becomes a priest, a black man who is gay; and of course the archetypal white army Major who goes around throwing his white weight about and calling the blacks unpleasant names and quite happily shooting them.
It really doesn't matter what colour your skin is, or indeed what country you come from or call your native land, this play makes it quite clear whose land this country's is, and despite their freindships with the 'conquerors', they intend to do everything in their power to take it back... there are plots afoot and a fully-fledged revolt takes hold. As one character towards the end remarks, they were there at the end of an epoch. The colonialism of that country has had its day, no matter the cost.
The script is thick and heavy, and Hansberry doesn't mince her words, nor is she selective in her themes and narrative. It is also very allegorical too, due to the presence of a tall, emaciated black woman, almost naked, slowly and deliberately stalking across the stage at times of heightened tension, to become the metaphorical chain around Tshembe's neck Tshembe being the educated and well travelled black man who has journeyed back to his home town for the funeral of his father only to find himself embroiled as a protagonist in the uprising.
This is a recording from the National Theatre's archives and was performed on their main stage in 2016. Now, more so than ever, is the perfect time for this play to be seen again; when the Black Lives Matter campaign is re-energised and anti-racism and pro-equality are watchcries of our contemporary existence.
The set (Soutra Gilmour) was excellent. On a revolve, the skeleton of the white doctor's mission house and hospital was the centrepiece, with browns and yellows - the sand and dirt of the arrid land around it, and this was beautifully ameliorated by Adam Cork's sometimes subtle and other times totally in-your-face very authentic African-sounding music / sound. At two and half hours, it was a lengthy play too, and director Yael Farber was making sure every minute detail and every tiny nuance of every word, every gesture and every happenstance was given weight and consideration. This was no easy or light-hearted watch on any level. I was physical tired and mentally drained after watching it, but it was worth every second; Farber elicited some superb performances and brought about electricity between cast which was almost (but obviously not actually) visible.
Of special mention, in a superbly cast play, should be of course Tshembe (Danny Sapani), there was truth, passion and also resignation in his resolute and honest portrayal. Also Dr Martha Gotterling (Anne Madeley) who was the assistant of a somewhat absent Dr Nielsen. Her attitudes towards the blacks obviously formulated from her years of experience with them, again an extremely honest and sympathetic performance. You could argue that the protagonist of the play was Charlie Morris (Elliot Cowan), an American journalist sent over to do a report on the mission and situation in that country, however, despite his story driving a lot of the narrative, it wasn't him or his story which really concerned the rest of the characters; in fact his being there was perhaps actually more of a hindrance to both black and white. However, for me the most enjoyable (if that is the correct adjective to use here, and I'm not sure it is) performance was from Sian Phillips as the aging and partially-sighted Madame Nielsen. Every word, every sentence given consideration, in that punctilious and precise way many older people use, making sure they are understood, even if they do circumlocute the subject.
An important play, and an important watch, especially now.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 3/7/20
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