Genesis Theatrical Productions presents SISTER AFRICA Review

The Congo is a land rich in minerals—it was once gold and diamond lust but today also a thirst for the tungsten, tin, cobalt and other minerals ($24 trillion estimate) essential to manufacture of consumer electronics goods. Ultimately it’s greed for this wealth that keeps taking the long-suffering Congolese people to new depths of depravity. Men are murdered, women are raped, and young boys are pressed into service as psyche-fractured boy soldiers.

This particular story is set in today’s Congo- primarily using a series of monologues to recount how and why the Jewish World Watch is struggling to put a spotlight on how the war-ravaged Congolese people are trying to find their own “Never Again”. A deep bond between survivors of the Holocaust and today’s victims of genocide is posited by the Rabbi character (Jimmy Binns), whose sermon and meditations on genocide introduce the story.

Genesis Theatrical Productions Puts Real-World Drama of the Congo in Focus

While the real-world story of the Congo is as dramatic as it gets, this writer kept waiting for the script to use the many tools of theater to bring the story home. The characters don’t interact much, especially in the first half or so of the play. We sit waiting for the story to really start, realizing well into it that this just isn’t going to happen.

Opera-trained lead Takesha Kizart doesn’t sing but a few notes near the play’s conclusion. Nonetheless her diva energy is apparent and super magnetic. She mesmerizes, helping us to forget the dearth of plot or character development.

Actors Ahmed Brooks( playing the teacher turned child soldier rehabilitator) and Chris McClellan (as the tortured soul boy soldier) are also able at times to give performances that outshine the script per se.

On opening night the cast was competing with real-world drama about neo-Nazis wreaking havoc in Virginia. Putting focus on the Congo might seem challenging for those taken over by the recent turn of events in our nation. Then again, consider that the PR firm of Black, Manafort and Stone- YES, that Manafort and that Stone—count enslaver of child soldiers Jonas Savimbi among their historic clientele. Consider too that President Trump has made the overturn of Dodd-Frank’s provisions to ban Congo war-related minerals another priority in its long list of initiatives to roll-back Obama-era gains.

Sister Africa will likely have very strong appeal for those who are actively engaged in Tikkun, a quest to heal the world through religious study. Most of us will learn or re-learn quite a bit about forgotten Congo thanks to this work. That said, this strikes more as a script that preaches to the choir, or perhaps more properly described as preaching to a minion.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

About the Author: Amy Munice

Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.

Amy hopes the magazine’s click-a-picture-to-read-a-vivid-account format will nourish those ever hunting for under-discovered cultural treasures. She especially loves writing articles about travel finds, showcasing works by cultural warriors of a progressive bent, and shining a light on bold, creative strokes by fledgling artists in all genres.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY AMY MUNICE.