In 2004, playwright Lynn Nottage traveled to Africa to talk to Congolese women in Ugandan refugee camps about the atrocities they experienced in their country’s civil war. Taking her theme from Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, Nottage used the first-hand experiences of these women to craft her Pulitzer prize-winning play, Ruined.
The Plowshares Theatre production opens February 16, hot on the heels of the Bonstelle Theatre's production of Nottage’s Intimate Apparel.
The story is set in the rain forest bar and brothel of Mama Nadi – a strong woman who is a composite of some of Nottage’s interviewees. Mama both protects and profits from the Congolese women whose bodies have become just another corner of the battlefield – another outlet for the violence between the government soldiers and rebel fighters.
The “ruined” women of the title are those who have been raped, mutilated and abandoned. Despite it’s dark themes and real-world violence, Nottage offers an inspirational story that reveals the courage of these characters and their deep innter strength.
The Plowshares cast includes: Iris M. Farrugia, Mandi Masden, Quentin Crump, Tiffany Small, Augustus Williamson, Armond Jackson, K. Edmonds and Samer Ajluni.
The Ploughshares Theatre production of Ruined is being staged at the Boll Family YMCA Theatre in Detroit on Feb. 16 - March 11, 2012. Evening performances are at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays with 3 p.m. matinees on Sundays. Special Saturday matinees are also offered at 3 p.m. on March 3 and March 10, 2012.
Tickets are available by calling the box office at 313.593.0926, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can also visit the Detroit box office at 3663 Woodward Avenue, Suite 150, Room 119, or purchase them online at the Plowshares Theatre website.
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