Synopsis Seizing the opportunity to research a book, Jack Exley uproots his family from Illinois to Rwanda in early 1994. Alarmingly out of depth, Jack begins a fervent search for his dear and missing friend while his wife and teenage son find trouble of their own. As Jack involves himself in the local politics, he discovers a pattern of brutality and beliefs that jeopardizes the lives of everyone around him. World Premiere.
Out of Joint’s Max Stafford-Clark directs the world premiere of JT Rogers’ The Overwhelming at the National’s Cottesloe Theatre (See News, 15 Feb 2006). The production, which opened on 17 May 2006 (previews from 9 May), marks the UK debut for American dramatist Rogers.
Set in Rwanda in early 1994, Jack Exley (played by Matthew Marsh) uproots his family from Illinois to research a book, and tragedy strikes. As well as Marsh, the cast includes Jude Akuwudike, William Armstrong, Babou Ceesay, Chipo Chung, Nick Fletcher, Andrew Garfield, Tanya Moodie, Lucian Msamati, Adura ONashile and Danny Sapani.
Critics were drawn into the days leading up to the Rwandan genocide in Stafford-Clark’s “powerful” production and agreed that while it has its faults, The Overwhelming makes important points about world affairs. The production continues in rep until September when it embarks on a five-week tour, visiting Oxford, Leeds, Southampton, Liverpool and Manchester, where it concludes on 7 October.
Michael Coveney on Whatsonstage.com - “It is hard to feel objective about the play because the second act and the conclusion are so tragic and so upsetting. And yet, here we are, in a comfortable theatre, as it were authenticating one of the most shameful episodes of our recent history and the inevitable upshot of the introduction of ethnic identity cards by the Belgians in the Congo in 1926… Some of the play feels bitty until Stafford-Clark’s trademark genius for imposing fluency and detail takes hold.” Coveney also commended the “flawless” acting and the “brilliant metaphorical use of cabbages and skulls”. He concluded: “But the play, disturbing and informative, makes us feel more helpless than ever in witnessing man’s inhumanity to man.”
Benedict Nightingale in The Times - Nightingale felt that Rogers’ play “sometimes reminds one of those Graham Greene thrillers” although “a bit wordy and cluttered.” However, Max Stafford-Clark “catches the complexity of a situation in which even an idealistic Aids doctor may have dark secrets to hide. And by the end, it’s evident that Rogers is writing as much about 2006 as about tribal madness in 1994.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian - “I welcome any play that raises our eyes from domestic issues. And JT Rogers' work, set on the eve of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, stirs our sleeping consciences… The play is an indictment of global powerlessness in the face of the Rwandan crisis and a reminder that it may be repeated in Darfur… What the play has to say is important; but Rogers' dramatic technique is spasmodically flawed. For an expert in international relations, his hero seems excessively naive.” However, “the technical shortcomings are camouflaged by the speed and clarity of Max Stafford-Clark's Cottesloe production. Scene melts into scene in Tim Shortall's functional set and there are good performances all round.” Billington decided: “I am willing to forgive the play's aesthetic flaws for the urgency of its humanitarian theme.”
Nicholas de Jongh in the Evening Standard - De Jongh was impressed with the “deftly effective and powerfully acted production” which “achieves the emotional impact that TV news bulletins and newspapers rarely manage.” The play’s “characterising sense of speed, fluidity and anxiety, as hotel room gives way to hospital office or market place, is beautifully conveyed… The finale, with its emblematic coup de theatre, brings this war into close, ghastly focus. The Overwhelming gives political theatre serious allure.”
NOTE: The following review dates from May 2006 and this production's original run at the National Theatre.
On the brink of the 1994 genocidal massacres in Rwanda, Jack Exley, an American academic anxious to complete a book on grassroots activists around the world, arrives in Kigala to seek out his old friend Joseph Gasana, an Aids doctor working in a paediatric clinic.
The starting point of JT Rogers’ The Overwhelming in the NT Cottesloe – directed by Out of Joint artistic director Max Stafford-Clark – seems simple enough. But the quest is hampered and engulfed in the rumble of tribal internecine strife between the extreme Hutu governing powers and the Tutsi “insurgents”.
Joseph (Jude Akuwudike) has gone missing - just one more statistic in the shocking chorus of “Goodbye Tutsi, goodbye” – but addresses us in flashback in his old correspondence with Jack. Jack has brought along his second wife, a black journalist with aspirations to novel-writing, and his 17-year-old son from his first marriage. An American embassy official takes them to the heart of darkness.
It's hard to feel objective about the play because the second act and the conclusion are so tragic and so upsetting. And yet, here we are, in a comfortable theatre, as it were authenticating one of the most shameful episodes of our recent history and the inevitable upshot of the introduction of ethnic identity cards by the Belgians in the Congo in 1926.
Some of the play feels bitty until Stafford-Clark’s trademark genius for imposing fluency and detail takes hold. The stage action moves from car rides to embassy receptions, poolside meetings, market trips – where a young girl selling cabbages is branded a “filthy Tutsi whore” – and the church, whose statue of the Virgin Mary dominates Tim Shortall’s clever design (well lit by Johanna Town).
The acting is flawless. Matthew Marsh makes Jack an interesting liberal driven by a selfish impulse to secure his university tenure. His wife and son – Tanya Moodie and Andrew Garfield – express contrasting reactions to the culture shock, while the non-welcoming party led by Danny Sapani’s imposing government official and Lucian Msamati’s tremendous, thuggish politician turn from smiling indifference to full-blown nastiness.
Out of Joint watchers will relish the perfect sound effect to accompany a golf swing, the brilliant metaphorical use of cabbages and skulls, the astute brace of performances by a single actor, Nick Fletcher, as a French diplomat and South African aid worker. But the play, disturbing and informative, makes us feel more helpless than ever in witnessing man’s inhumanity to man. The programme quotes Primo Levi: “It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say.”
After Blackbird by the aptly-named David Harrower, now comes The Overwhelming; not just appropriately titled, but also a contender for best new play of the year.
Although the appalling genocide in Rwanda is probably too vast a subject for a drama, JT Rogers enables us to feel the advancing horror by focussing on a few individuals, particularly three naive Americans "in a country you do not know, without a language to understand it".
The play does not try to provide easy answers and suggests that there are faults on all sides but the overwhelming (sic) feeling is of gathering unease and tension, with dreadful parallels to the Nazi holocaust. It all builds to one of the most genuinely terrifying climaxes to a stage production I have ever seen.
It is no reflection on a magnificent and thought-provoking play, or a superb ensemble, when I say that applause at the end did not feel entirely appropriate. - 62.6.139.13)
09 Aug 06
The writing is flabby and underpowered and the direction is confusing. The acting is very uneven. The story only really comes to life in the last thirty minutes - before that the play feels more like an illustrated lecture than a drama. The many many short scenes seem to betray an origin as a film script. This might've made a good ninety minute piece - at three hours with interval it feels way, way over-extended. - 62.252.0.10)
19 Jul 06
Extremely powerful drama of a very difficult subject - thought provoking and harrowing at times, but very moving.A must see. - 213.122.106.114)
03 Jun 06
What's clever about this play is that it manages to objectively tell you so much about a tragic world event through the lives of one expatriate family; it uses theatre to inform and iluminate events that are little understood by most of us, whilst at the same time being good theatre. I didn't find it as harrowing as I was expecting, which is maybe why I left the theatre feeling informed and thoughtful. We should be thankful that theatre can still present issues like these and thank you to OOJ and the RNT for doing so. - 86.130.201.183)
27 May 06
This play is not entertaining as such; rather, it is a sensitive and truly believable production that does its subject matter justice by its exploration of events. The transposal of issues into a more personal human context allows several points of view to be understood by the audience, with the relationships between characters giving the play a gritty reality.
The play owed much of its success to the extremely strong cast. In particular, Danny Sapani was outstanding as the intense government official, with other notable performances from Andrew Garfield as the unsuspecting son and Babou Ceesay as his new companion. Their performances really brought the words to life, and for not one minute did we remember that we were actually in rainy England instead of the Rwanda that was created for us.
We felt a little let down by the writing of J.T. Rogers in that we felt that character relationships could have been developed more as at times the action focused more on the situation, although this may be down to artistic choice. However, we felt the constructed build up of tension was exemplary.
The production of the play was impressive. The set was incredibly versatile, helping with the pace of the piece and the atmosphere of a claustrophobic Rwanda. It was not showy, but simple and effective, allowing the audience to focus on the unfolding situation and characters.
Max Stafford-Clark has once again, in his own undeiable way, brought a key issue to the forefront of theatre. He suceeds not just because of the authenticity of the production but because the audience themselves are made to feel a part of what is happening. We were left reflecting on not only the horror of events but also the idea that such situations are invariably complex that solutions, if they are there, are nigh impossible to find.
“The Overwhelming” lived up to its name, presenting us with an uncomfortable theme, but conveying it with such relevance to our modern society. We would recommend this play to just about anybody. There is nothing pretentious or false but real lives presented in a truly understandable way.
- 217.40.187.105)
17 May 06
A fascinating and FACTUAL play that intrigued half of the audience,that were under 20,and disturbed the remaining 50%,over 50 and middle class,who did not want to believe what they were being told.
One criticism:no way were Africans taken from the"great lakes" to be enslaved in the Americas.
A mind blowing scene shews a young white American referring to Rwandans as "black" and then being horrified when his Rwandan friend called his mother,a negro,"black" and not "afro-american" What does that say about today's political/social thinking in the west.
Take your kids. - 195.93.21.10)
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