Ruined

I didn't even know what to write about this play last night. I wanted some time separated from it.

I was reminded by the conversation that Lena and I (kind of) had, albeit briefly, with Suzan Lori Parks when Lena asked about writing for a particular cause. It seem from having read the introduction that Lynn Nottage had a "cause" in mind when she first set to work on this play. She travelled to Uganda and collected women's stories. And yet, the characters in the play are fantastic. She did not "lose" the play to the cause, she made the cause real by developing the characters.

I loved Mama Nadi. So much. She reminds me of the countless women I've spoken to in the United States who are brave in the face of danger, who protect their children at all costs, who struggle daily to survive, and yet they keep heading forward. As Lena said, perhaps we are removed from this situation, how much can we really understand? But the point of making these stories accessible is to make them relatable to us - We can see some of ourselves in these characters.

I just thought it was really, really great.