Landing on UK soil for the first time, this new production of Pulitzer-winner Lynn Nottage’s fable of human greed and animal cruelty, under the direction of Miranda Cromwell, is a brutal, beautiful experience. Immediately, we meet Mlima, one of the last ‘Great Tuskers’ of Kenya – elephants with tusks so big they touch the ground.
Mlima is a proud, noble elephant. He tells us about the lessons of his grandmother; how he was called handsome by his mother; we learn of his love, Mumbi. Mlima’s life is painted in vivid colour, and there’s something magical about the way Nottage’s text, partly based on an article titled The Ivory Highway, imbues him with human-like emotion, family, and stakes – we can relate, and it’s profound. Mere moments later, though, we see Mlima brutally murdered by poachers.
