There is a saying among the Maasai people that if you do not give an elephant a proper burial, it will haunt you for days. Lynn Nottage’s play Mlima’s Tale is an elephant ghost story. And in it we learn, elephants never forget!
Mlima is a legendary elephant on the savannas of a Kenyan game preserve where he lives. This elephant is personified by David Goodloe. He is a mountain of male beauty as well he should be; Mlima means mountain in Swahili.
Goodloe's perfectly toned body glistens under the atmospheric lighting by Jared Gooding, placed against the stark set by Joy Ahn. The setting foretells the clandestine events to come. As audience members we are ready to hear Mlima's tale.
He is being pursued by two poachers for his tusks. Mlima tells of his origins and family life in detail.
“I was once a proud warrior, unafraid to be seen,” Mlima tells us. But that was “before the violent crackle, before the drought and the madness.” Now, “I run more than I walk, and I can never catch my breath. They are watching me. Watching always. I hear them all around me. And I run, more than I walk.”
But soon enough, Mlima is hit with a poison arrow. Not wanting to bring attention to their crime, the poachers choose not to shoot him. Instead, they watch him die an agonizingly slow death. When his death finally arrives, Mlima smears his body and face with white paint, reminiscent of the ritual body painting of African tribes.
We see Mlima's tusks travel from place to place, from one corrupt official to the next even more corrupt official, and around the world, until they end up in the home of the nouveau riche as a status symbol.
But the spirit of Mlima travels with the tusks and is present in the dealings between poachers, park rangers, wildlife directors, ivory traders, exporters, businessmen, ivory carvers, art dealers and ivory enthusiast. Everyone involved in the illicit movement and sale of the tusks receives a mark from the ghost of Mlima, a scarlet letter of sorts.
Director Jerrell Henderson has done an excellent job using 6 actors (Lewon Johns, Michael Turrentine, Collin McShane, Ben Chang, Christopher Thomas Pow and Sarah Lo) to portray 18 characters in this tale of greed, treachery and ivory to stunning results. The ensemble was some of the best work I’ve seen from a cast. Special mention must go to Lewon Johns for his interpretation of a Nigerian Government Official. His accent and characterization were spot on, as was the entire cast. Scene and costume changes are done quickly and effortlessly making the 90-minute runtime flies by.
Nottage, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama has won two Pulitzers for Sweat and Ruined, and is a MacArthur genius grant recipient among other honors. (My personal favorite Nottage play is Intimate Apparel.) Mlima's Tale is different in structure than her previous character driven plays. This is a tale told in the African folklore style.
Griffin Theatre's Mlima’s Tale is a beautiful, mesmerizing story that I promise you won’t forget. It runs at the Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark February 23 – March 21, 2020, Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 7:30 pm. Sunday at 3:00 pm.
