A play about the racial politics of a play about racial politics
By Daniel Nelson
Jackie Sibblies Drury chanced on what has been described as the first genocide of the 20th century while researching a completely different play idea.
She was considering writing about black German actor Günther Kaufmann, but on googling ‘Germany’ was confronted by an account of the deaths of tens of thousands of Herero people in South-West Africa (now Namibia) when they protested at German colonial rule.
The research roots of the play that subsequently emerged from her belated historical catch-up are reflected in the title, We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884 – 1915.
The “we” of the title is also a giveaway because it reveals that the piece is not a history lesson about a neglected act of colonial mass murder but is about the interplay of attitudes and beliefs of a contemporary group of actors – three black and three white.
So it’s a play about the racial politics of a play about racial politics. The issues and tensions that erupt are made more intractable because what is known about the annihilation comes, as usual, from the perpetrators rather than the victims. So that, too, becomes an issue for the actors.
What’s more, it’s an American play, and as32-year-old, New York-based Sibblies Drury says, accents play an important role in the US. As they do here, which means careful thought has to be given if the piece is not simply performed as a US play but translated into a British context.
Translation also means the director and actors have more of an input into the words spoken as well as into nuances of behaviour. “There’s lots of conversation in the room about racism,” she says after a rehearsal.
That’s why the play should be of interest in London, once people have got over the title’s public appeal barrier.
Someone else has had an input, too: the Namibian High Commissioner in London. Sibblies Drury says he has provided some notes on the events that prompted the play – when German troops machine-gunned the Herero and forced others into the desert and left them to die, acts for which Germany issued an apology in 2004.
Descendants of those rebels against colonial rule have turned up to the play’s five US productions. The 32–year-old author described this as “terrifying” but happily found that most expressed relief that the tragedy was at last being talked about and that many were excited that a connection was being made with their history.
I haven’t seen the play yet, so had to recourse to asking Sibblies Drury to give a reason why people should attend. “Go with friends and have a drink afterwards – you’ll have something to talk about,” she said. “See something outside your usual perspective. That’s a reason to go.”
Sounds like good advice. Image by Bush Theatre
We are proud to present...
· Jackie Sibblies Drury’s play, We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884 – 1915, will be performed at the Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, London W12 8LJ, from 28 February to 12 April. Info: 8743
5050/ http://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/production/weareproud/
+ Interview with Jackie Sibblies Drury: The Appendix
Mon - Sat - 7.30pm (£19.50)
Previews - 28 Feb, 1, 3 & 4 Mar, 7.30pm (£15)
Saturday Matinees - 8, 15, 22 & 29 Mar, 5 & 12 Apr, 2.30pm (£15)
Wednesday Matinees - 12, 19 & 26 Mar, 2 & 9 Apr, 2.30pm (£15)
Captioned Performance - 14 March, 7.30pm
Audio Described Performance - 22 Mar, 7.30pm
Recommended age suitability - 14+
