RUINED Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RUINED - Essay Example The play is an amalgamation of both harrowing and shocking experiences brought together by Kate Whoriskey’s ensemble, sets by Derek McLane and scintillating music by Dominic Kanza. In her 2007 play Nottage paints shocking and evocative portraits of the lives of African Americans while portraying the horrific sufferings and brutalization suffered by them during the decade long civil conflict that took place in the Congo. The clear message of Nottage was to bring about an awareness among the people about the atrocities meted out to the minorities of African Americans and to put an end to such practices in the future. Through the darkest moments of ‘Ruined’ there emerges and shines out awe inspiring nobility and profound tenderness that melts the heart. ‘Ruined is the kind of play that serves as a homage to all those resilient women who have to pull themselves together and lead a new life after they have been ‘ruined’. The primary aim of the playwr ight was to bring a problem that seemed too far away, right into the midst of contemporary society. According to what Nottage states -   "But I wanted to create an emotional bridge, so that when people are reading those articles, they feel that they're connecting with living, breathing human beings, not just statistics." (Lynn Nottage, 2007) The central theme of the plot revolves around the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, and traces a young woman’s nightmarish journey to a business savvy woman running a brothel called Mama Nadi during the thick of the Civil War. The director, Seret Scott, was quite capable in unifying the whole act together as a lot of trouble was taken for the costumes, lighting and the setting of each scene. For example, most of the scenes were set in a bar or brothel that was located in a mining area in the Congo rain forest. The regular clients were rustic rebels, miners and government officials who were in charge on that particular area o n any given day. These people were rough and with no sympathy. According to Nottage, â€Å"Rape has become a weapon of war† and these women were raped and mutilated in the most callous manner. The characters in the play each played their part very well and I am sure that their performances would have helped many people identify with them. Though I disliked the character of Mama Nadi, yet I liked the way she performed as the mistress of the brothel house. The reason why I disliked her character was because even though she was a woman herself, she had no sympathy for the other women who were so brutally treated. She goes by rules that are to be followed and everything is business for her. One of the characters that I like in the play is that of Christian played by Oberon K.A. Adjepond, who supplies Mama Nadi with whatever she needs for the house. Christian is a decent character who loves poetry and spontaneously recites a few lines of poetry throughout the play. The reason why I like this character is because he is quite reliable and trustworthy, especially when considering the type of people he is surrounded with. He tries to lend support to the ladies when the bad guys come and argues with them, but it is rather surprising that he somehow gets away with what he says. Sophie is another character that I like in the play. I feel sorry for the way she was brutally raped. Even Mama Nadi who is considered to have a cold heart, is seen to show some understanding and tenderness towards Sophie and this understanding can be