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Mlima's Tale by Lynn Nottage at The Public Theater

Walking into Lynn Nottage's latest play, Mlima's Tale, at The Public, I was concerned it would be an upsetting experience. What I didn't realize is that it would be a dull experience.

Yes, it is an upsetting experience. How can a play centered on the death of an African elephant not be? But it wasn't as moving as it should have been. Have I been desensitized by the senseless violence and greed we hear about constantly when it comes to animals? Is there anything left to say about the slaughter of innocent animals for wealth?

If Mlima's Tale is any indication then no, there isn't. Nottage doesn't tell us anything we don't already know, she doesn't surprise us with this information about the corrupt ivory trade, and quite frankly, I couldn't find it in me to be interested at all. Yes, the device she employs of having Sahr Ngaujah (who never fails to give great performances) portray the titular elephant, and then his tusks, as they travel around the world is a fascinating one; Ngaujah's presence is so strong that you can't help but watch him during these scenes. Except maybe that was because I didn't find what was happening on stage all that compelling. If Nottage wants us to be shocked by what she has written, she's years too late. By the end of the eighty minutes, I was like, "yeah, of course this is all going to result in someone making millions and millions of dollars from the death of a beautiful, majestic creature like Mlima." All of it felt so inconsequential, inessential. Not as epic or grand as it should have been. Nottage tries to be poetic and experimental, especially with the design and sound concept, but it didn't quite work for me.

I couldn't help but wonder what a more experimental playwright, someone like Suzan-Lori Parks, whose language is typically way more poetic and malleable than Nottage's, would've done with the material. Mlima's Tale should be poetic and lyrical, should toy with the medium and explore what you can do with a play or even just a theatrical space (much like Parks' Venus). Instead Nottage gives us something that is unsurprising, and I'd argue, straight-forward.

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