Unicorn "Ruined" review by DeborahBuckner

Ruined

Rating: 4

Ruined

Unicorn Theatre

It has been a while since a theater completely carried me to another world, but such is the case with The Unicorn's production of Ruined.  Lynn Nottage received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for this play of war-torn Africa and its dual story of brutality toward women and the land.

Scenic Designer Erin Walley and Sound Designer Ryan Matthew Hall make Mama Nadi's establishment a "character" itself, a little place of escape for miners and soldiers alike.  With a deliberate casual-looking placement of tables and chairs and the central bar, the setting is inviting as a gathering place, respite from an outside where sounds include both jungle birds and occasional gunfire,.

Mama (Nedra Dixon) is a spitfire, fully in command of her place and her people.  She deals shrewdly with the shrewd trader, Christian (Walter Coppage), and the two display good chemistry of two people who know each other and know how to work with and around each other.  In addition to the requested goods, such as lipstick, Christian shows up this trip with two young women, hoping Mama will take them.  Salima (Samra Teferra) has been abducted from her village, raped by soldiers and witness to her baby's brutal murder; Sophie (Caroline Gombe), Christian's niece, has faced similar brutality, and was, ultimately, "ruined" (genital mutilation) by her captors.  Mama is willing to take Salima who can be put to use entertaining the miner and soldier customers, but she balks at the seemingly useless Sophie.  Bribed with Belgian chocolate and Christian's charms, she finds a place for the girl with a sweet singing voice and a good mind for arithmetic.

The girls make a place at Mama's, along with feisty whore Josephine, who dreams of a life of grandeur when regular client, Mr. Harari (John Rensenhouse) will take her away to "the city."  Their daily work brings them in contact with military leaders from both sides of the ever-present conflict, Commander Osembenga (Mykel Hill) and Jerome Kisembe (Damron Russel Armstrong).  At times, it is difficult to distinguish these two leaders—each is determined, ruthless and merciless in approaching the fight  This is either a weakness of character differentiation or a grand anti-war statement, demonstrating that war is only about the fight itself with no real care or concern for the cause.

Act I of the play is energy-charged, moving instantly from scene to scene as all the characters populating Mama's world are introduced.  Act II began to lose focus and might benefit from tightening and editing.  Each character seems to have a turn with an obligatory monologue that slows the action and, sometimes, confuses the flow of the play.

Gombe and Teferra, as Sophie and Salima, demonstrate important moments, but sometimes exhibit a lightness of mood that would seem impossible for young women who have endured so much. Outstanding performances by Dixon, Coppage, Anyanwu and Rensenhouse clearly define their characters and make them real and believable.

The overall result is a feeling of transportation to another world, certain to provoke lingering thought and questions.

read the review at KC Stage