Theater/Dance
My Children! My Africa!
By Carol Chastang--SeeingBlack.com Theater Critic
Oct 8, 2007, 16:25

There are plays that are seemingly written for the blind, that are crafted so poetically that watching the actors move about and emote on the stage may not be necessary. You could literally close your eyes and listen to the characters—and be moved by the playwright’s words.

Athol Fugard’s “My Children! My Africa!” is one of those plays. His tale of South Africa’s apartheid-era turmoil, and how it tears apart the lives of a teacher and two students, is lyrical not only in his depiction of the horrors of apartheid but also in his description of the beauty of the land.

Set in 1984, at the height of the student uprisings again the government’s oppressive apartheid system, the play revolves around the budding and unlikely friendship between the privileged yet down-to earth White student Isabel Dyson (the memorable Veronica del Cerro), and the brilliant Black student-activist Thami Mbikwana (Yaegel T. Welch). They’re paired up to train for a national scholastic competition under the tutelage of teacher Anela Myalatya (James Brown-Orleans).

Myalatya, or Mr. M as the students call him, has been mentoring Thami and considers him his most talented pupil. Thami and Isabel respect each other’s intellect and the bright-eyed and enthusiastic Isabel welcomes every challenge presented to her by Thami. When Isabel happily talks about her journalist aspirations, Thami tells her that dreams of higher education and future success are luxuries young Black South Africans cannot afford.

“Hope is a beast that is hungry but it is a beast all the same,” says the teacher Mr. M, and he fears the animal will devour all of South Africa’s young people. He and Thami clash—Thami complains that Mr. M clings to the old ways and doesn’t want to stand on the forefront of changing the system. Mr. M fears that student unrest will undermine his efforts to educate the young. He believes that the precise and commanding use of the written word can bring about change.

James Brown-Orleans is great at Mr. M, conveying passion and his own inner turmoil and pain. As the opened-hearted Isabel, del Cerro is captivating and is believable as a young woman awakening from the cocoon of her sheltered life to courageously try to understand the depth of Thami’s suffering. Welch’s turn as Thami was a bit self-conscious. Particularly in the second act, when he becomes the central figure, he doesn’t display the depth needed to carry these pivotal scenes

While the acting is credible, the overall production doesn’t match the emotional impact of Fugard’s words. His story about crushed dreams, betrayal and the waste of young lives is moving. Unfortunately, this revival of “My Children! My Africa!” just misses the mark.


“My Children! My Africa!” runs through October 21st at The Studio Theatre, 1501 14th Street NW, Washington DC. 202-332-3300, www.studiotheatre.org.






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