A Season In The Congo at The Young Vic

Chiwetel Ejiofor was the main incentive for me buying tickets for A Season in the Congo.  That and the fact that I was curious to see how Joe Wright tackled his second foray into theatre direction following his Trelawny of the Wells at The Donmar.  And then came a couple of reviews, which were less than complimentary and, despite me being well aware of the vagaries of theatre appreciation, I was not as excited by the prospect of a night at The Young Vic as I should have been.  Silly me, I’d forgotten my Mum’s mantra, “stick to your original decision”, because As Season in the Congo, although not perfect (but then what is) is an intoxicating piece of theatre.

Aime Cesaire’s play, written in 1966 is flawed, mainly because it comes across as a one man monologue, with plenty of tell but not a lot of show, especially at the beginning.  However, Joe Wright’s take on it, bringing in as it does, a cacophony of colour, sound and movement, makes it so much more, especially once we are shown the real Lumumba, brilliantly executed by the stunning Chiwetel Ejiofor.

The story centres around Patrice Lumumba who rises from beer salesman and political activist in the Belgian Congo of 1955 to the first prime minister of the newly independent state in June 1960.  A meteoric rise and even bigger fall, as by 1961 Lumumba is dead, murdered by Belgian and Katangan (the southern state of the Congo) military police, with his body subsequently (or so we believe) dissolved in acid.  An untimely end for a man so obviously revered as a prophet by many of the Congolese people. 

Lumumba had many flaws and Ejifor doesn’t shy away from highlighting them.  He humanizes the man, brings to life his many contradictions and shows us his bravery and passion.  We feel his pain on realizing that his dream for a free and peaceful Congo is lost and, whilst a lesser actor would have rendered his many impassioned political speeches, over long and boring, Ejifor delivers them with wonderful insight.

The production is imbued with a heavy dose of satire.  Among other things, puppet heads portray the Belgian politicians and the entire black cast don pink pig style noses when playing whites. These affectations work most of the time but not always.  However, instead of highlighting the weaknesses I think Wright should be applauded for his bravery in trying something different.  He manages to elevate an extremely political play from being too earnest and dull.

The rest of the multi-talented cast should also be commended.  The majority of them taking on multiple roles, act, sing and dance with aplomb, starting as soon as the audience take to their seats in what appears to be the bottom of a drained, run down swimming pool.  A dialogue with audience members sitting nearest the action, is continuous and ensures that you’re on the side of the Congolese people right from the beginning.

Particularly worth a mention are Daniel Kaluuya as Joseph Mobuto, Joseph Mydell as the Congo’s smooth talking President and Joan Iyiola as Pauline Lumumba, Patrice’s long suffering wife.  The choreographer, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, fills the production with African dance, Lizzie Clachan’s design is a delight and the slow motion massacre scene, choreographed to within an inch of its life, is a major highlight.  A nice touch, also is the Likembe Player, Kabongo Tshisensa who acts as a shaman-like chorus.

A Season In The Congo maybe flawed but it is an extraordinary and extremely entertaining piece of theatre.