SLAVE: A QUESTION OF FREEDOM at the The Lowry

★★★★

“Moments of lightness or humour are rare, but welcome, during the work, which is a hard watch for a compassionate audience”

Co-adapted for stage by Kevin Fegan and Caroline Clegg from the autobiography Slave (Virago) by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis, this is a raw and emotional retelling of Nazar’s slavery in Sudan and England and how these experiences have formed her life and its mission. ‘Slave: A Question of Freedom’ does not shrink from reality, it is a powerful personal story and a clarion call on behalf of all victims of slavery and trafficking today.

Mende Condo (played with real emotion by Yolanda Ovide) grows up in the mountains of Nuba in the north of Sudan. Family village life is happy, yet even at this early stage of her life, a sense of normality disappears when it is clear she has suffered Female Genital Mutilation (referred to in the play as circumcision).

Tragedy unfolds, as Mende and her friend Kheko (a truthful performance by Ebony Feare) are captured in a violent raid by Mujahideen fighters. Mende suffers terribly before being sold into slavery in Khartoum. On the outside, the family are respectable citizens, but behind closed doors, Mende is constantly belittled, victimised and threatened, not allowed to go outside or speak to others. She struggles to accept her everyday existence. Her one true guide is her village elder and spirit guide, (Mohand Abdalrahem) who continues to appear to her.

After being sold to a high ranking family in London, she eventually finds freedom and a way to tell her story, with the help of several brave men and women. Thankfully, we realise that the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which was the result of campaigning which included the first production of this play, has since been enacted to improve legal protections.

Moments of lightness or humour are rare, but welcome, during the work, which is a hard watch for a compassionate audience. Violence, rape and abuse are depicted not graphically, but without flinching or cutting these short. Director Caroline Clegg is clearly deeply driven by the need to tell Mende’s story. Some scenes involving severe trauma feel that they are there to be truthful to the awful reality rather than adding a new element to the impact.

Mende’s mistreatment by the slave-owner wives in Khartoum and London, (Sara Faraj) is striking, any potential female solidarity is overpowered by cultural discrimination against the ‘black people’ of Nuba by the paler skinned Arabic speaking Sudanese. This is not a religious difference – it is racial and cultural and we are reminded that these prejudices are ancient and hard to eradicate. As the play progresses, we understand that this is not a story of the past, it is ongoing, with millions of people affected by the gaslighting and threats which enslavers constantly make to people with language barriers, little knowledge and no friends.

A simple, angled raised circular set (Lara Booth, based on Nigel Hook’s 2010 design) combined with lighting and projections (Tracey Gibbs) to add clarity to the scene changes and provide a suitable setting for the story, despite some minor technical difficulties on this first night.

Nuba inspired rhythms and acapella songs, (Carol Donaldson as composer and Dan Willis as Musical Director) combine with whole-ensemble joyful dance, to provide a sense of place and community as well as a returning theme for Mende, the girl who had been taken so young.

This is a detailed, honest and harrowing retelling of Mende Nazar’s life story. Told mostly in a linear narrative, rather than by exploring themes, at times it feels a little long. However, the incredible bravery of Mende’s voice to tell her personal story is without a doubt the core of the work and the cast work as one to achieve this objective. The audience was moved and inspired by her appearance on stage at the culmination of this performance, to thank those who continue to help campaign for those without a voice.

SLAVE: A QUESTION OF FREEDOM at the The Lowry then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 9th October 2024

by Lucy Williams

Photography by Roger More

Previously reviewed at this venue:

WAR HORSE | ★★★★★ | September 2024

Slave

Slave

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