UNentertaining Mr. Sloane

“Entertaining Mr. Sloane” is a new production of the Curve Theatre based on a play written by Joe Orton. The Curve Theatre is the best place to perform Orton’s work as the author was originally from Leicester, and so the square in the front of the Curve is named after him.

I didn’t read the original play yet but I’m planning to do so shortly. I’m in the middle of the Orton’s diaries and I found his personality very interesting. He was a strange guy, because of the choices he made as well as his sexual life which was extraordinary.

Because of his diaries I assumed that the play would be the same: packed with sexual intrigues, excitements and smartly led action twists. I was sure that the stage will be a place of physical, psychological and emotional buzz. Unfortunately I was wrong. The first scene was not breathtaking but played quite well. After that the tension visible at the beginning eased and in my opinions actors even stopped acting which was inexcusable. The plot about sexual perversions between young Mr. Sloane and his landlady as well as her rich brother mixed with the mysterious crimes started to be unbelievably “trashy”. This made me feel cheated. I believe that it was just because of the bad production rather than the play itself. 

Mr. Sloane didn’t turn me on despite the fact he wore his sexy leather clothes, which was a pity! 

Go back to work on Monday

If you are a certified professional it’s definitely your piece of cake! However do not read this if you are not ready for answering the basic questions… There has to be a revolution, but it has to be a revolution of consciousness… and then “all institutions will be overturned including the institution of the revolution itself” [Jo Twist].

Four actors on the stage with just a couple of props and one pianist made the play “Certified” (the Curve Theatre, Leicester, September 2012) spectacular, expressive and meaningful. It is one of the best plays I have ever seen because of this hilarious actors’ play, as well as the great script written by Scott Rankin and Glynn Nicholas.

“Certified” is a story of four professionals - three executives and their boss - who are going together to a tropical resort for a weekend to talk about restructuring the company. The boss mentioned previously that he was looking for the best partners for himself so they should have been ready for everything, including the fact that not all of them would go back to work on Monday. Because of this warning, all his employees decided to go with him to the resort, despite the fact that this was not suitable for them. During this trip they discuss much more than only topics related to their work. An audience is a witness of four tragic-comedian life stories, based on the most common stereotypes of men: a successful boss, an exemplary husband and father, a midlife crisis sufferer and a young smart playboy. Their daily problems and worries are shown with a fantastic sense of humor, full of ironic comments and sarcastic punch lines, which makes the show unbelievable funny. On the other hand, the problems discussed on the stage are the main issues of human life like love, fraternity, relationships, loneliness, self-esteem and being.

The main questions asked on the stage are: “Who are you?”; “What do you want?”; “What do you want for yourself”. The answers are not easy and the four characters hardly try to find the best solution for themselves. 

This brilliant play is not only a “man’s world”, despite the fact that only men are shown there. It’s an intellectual and psychical battle in which we all take part every day, because “I am who I am, I am just a man”…

Let me ask you: 

Who are you? What do you want? What do you want for yourself?

Be a crocodile

“The mamba” means “crocodile” in Swahili, and refers to the name of the gang that used to run in Huruma, Nairobi.  This gang was led by George Hussein Obama, who was the first slum gangster in Nairobi and who is the President of the United States Barack Obama’s half brother. They have the same father, but as life has shown they have completely different lifestyles. One is the well known first black President of the USA, while the other lives in poverty in the Huruman ghetto.

George Obama is no longer a criminal and outlaw. After being jailed, he turned his world around and stayed as the leader of Africa’s most lawless, poor and brutal district, as he did not agree how the local police and politicians treated people. He is an informal president of the slums in Nairobi. He lives with his people and deals with poverty, starvation and injustice which cause crimes. He rarely tries to change this and makes it work better for people. He is powerful and influential, even if he doesn’t live as his brother in the White House, filled with richness and prosperity.

This play is a real-life story which compares two separate worlds of two completely different people, who are determined to be the leaders. George works to improve the lives of the people of the area he lives in and he has become an inspiration to them. Barack looks for reelection in the USA. 

Their characters are dramatized by the brilliant role of George played by Clifford Samuel. “Obama the Mamba” is a monodrama, so the way of playing it is essential. During the 2 hours of the show Clifford is a child with dreams, a schoolboy with plans, a frustrated teenager without hope, a young adult making his first decisions and commits his first crimes. He is a looser who has been caught, a man who discovers that the relationship with his brother doesn’t exist  and finally a charismatic and smart fugleman of the lost nation.

This story raises some fundamental questions about who we are, what we look like, where we come from, what family means and how powerful the influence is. 

"Obama the Mamba" was played in the Curve Theatre in Leicester as one of the "Black History Season" events. One of the shows was followed by the meeting with George Hussein Obama himself.