Latest news with #TheMountaintop
The National
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
REVIEW: Martin Luther King drama hits the heights, and a technical low
King calls room service and requests a coffee. A young maid by the name of Camae arrives with his beverage. So begins American dramatist Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning 2009 play The Mountaintop. If you are – as I am in writing reviews – averse to spoilers, Hall's drama is a tricky proposition. It is necessary, yet possibly saying too much, to reveal that the fictional figure of Camae is not what she seems. The maid is Black, working class, clever, fast talking, flirtatious, irreverent, yet very much in respectful awe of King. As such, this multifaceted character is a brilliant foil to Hall's imagined MLK. King himself emerges – in Hall's characterisation – as a complex combination of traits inspired by both his public persona and what we know of his private biography. Inevitably – given the ever-present threats against his life – he is afraid for his person. His conversation with Camae explores the tussle between fear, on the one side, and determination, faith and a sense of purpose, on the other. Camae's respect for King does not prevent her from invoking Black radicals such as Malcolm X and the Black Panthers, and from airing opinions on the struggle for racial justice that are at odds with MLK's insistence on non-violent resistance. READ MORE: 'Joy, celebration and warmth' of Palestinian art to be showcased at Edinburgh Fringe In one particularly memorable scene, she even imagines a new, radically Black nationalist rhetoric for King. Yet the dialogue between the pair is so deftly wrought, so believable in its humour, affection and growing familiarity that its political dimension never comes close to polemic. The characters' interactions reflect to a considerable degree MLK's well-established 'weakness' where his extra-marital relations with women were concerned. In this, and in other – by turns delightful and anguished – aspects, the play's broad humanism is inflected with feminism. Caleb Roberts (MLK) and Shannon Hayes (Camae) create a powerful and transfixing theatrical duet as they perform on set designer Hyemi Shin's impressive set (a vertiginous rendering of King's motel room). Caleb Roberts Although contrasting in so many ways, the actors generate characters who are in equal measure charismatic and vulnerable, all the better for Camae to guide King through a dark night of the soul and up to the titular mountaintop. Indeed, so spellbinding are the actors that one cannot help but feel disappointed by the needless distraction – in what should have been a shuddering denouement – of very visible stagehands invading the stage in the crucial final scene. This misjudgement on the part of acclaimed director Rikki Henry seriously undermines an otherwise sure-footed staging. The director exhibits a misplaced loyalty to a visual metaphor for which he and his team have been unable to find a satisfactory technical solution. Which is a great shame as, otherwise, this production does excellent justice to Hall's celebrated drama. Until June 21:
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Theatre reviews: The Mountaintop
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Mountaintop, Lyceum Theare, Edinburgh ★★★★★ Lear, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh ★★★★ When Katori Hall's breakthrough play The Mountaintop first appeared in London in 2009, Barack Obama had just been elected as the first black President of the United States; and if the young playwright struggled, at first, to find a US producer, it was perhaps because its sometimes apocalyptic tone seemed out of time, at that moment of hope. The Mountaintop | Mihaela Bodlovic Flash forward 16 years, though, to the age of Trump, and this brilliant, visionary and disturbing play could hardly seem more timely, as it imagines the last night on earth of mighty civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King, and a strange encounter between him and a hotel maid at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis; the place where King was shot dead, on his hotel balcony, on 4 April 1968. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Now, the play is being revived at the Lyceum in a challenging farewell show programmed by outgoing artistic director David Greig; and Rikki Henry's bold production rises to the occasion with a thrilling 95 minutes of theatre, bold, breathless, and sometimes terrifying. The Mountaintop | Mihaela Bodlovic As the play begins, Caleb Robert's Dr King is arriving back at his room in a thundering rainstorm, after a Memphis strike rally. Nervy and driven, and coughing with laryngitis, he huddles in a blanket, trying to pen a speech titled 'America is going to hell.' It's only when a pretty, flouncily-dressed maid called Camae arrives with his coffee that some light begins to fall on Hyemi Shin's high, heavily tilted hotel room set; yet as King begins to flirt with her, it soon becomes clear that their encounter is not following any ordinary route. With an unexpected authority, Shannon Hayes's brilliant Camae both laughs and giggles like any young girl meeting a hero, and looks past the routine sexual overtones of his chat to see a man both physically exhausted, and terrified by the constant death threats he receives. And as the thunder rolls, and Pippa Murphy's superb soundscape gathers momentum, she both challenges and comforts him, until he begins to realise that she is much more than a chambermaid, and that he is facing the moment he has feared for so long. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It might be possible to argue with some aspects of Hall's handling of the play's final phase, which involves a comic phone chat with God (female, of course), and a lightning journey through the last 60 years of racial politics in the US. By the end, though, the show achieves a dark and stunning intensity, as we watch Caleb Roberts's complex, heartrending King being dragged unwillingly from life; not kicking and screaming, but - to the very last - shaping those visionary words of hope and freedom that ensure his legacy lives on, even in the worst of times. Lear | Tommy Ga-Ken Wan There's an equal darkness and intensity, too, in Ramesh Meyyappan's Lear, a wordless hour-long meditation on Shakespeare's great tragedy, commissioned by last month's Singapore International Festival of Arts, and produced by Raw Material, with the National Theatre of Scotland. Driven by a terrific score by David Paul Jones, and set on a dark stage strewn with sack-cloth and ashes by designer Anna Orton, this Lear features astonishing performances from Nicole Cooper, Amy Kennedy and Draya Maria as Lear's three daughters, dressed in dark red, scarlet and blue silk; and revolves around Ramesh Meyyappan's intense and heartbreaking central vision of Lear as a man accustomed to power, but now increasingly lost and demented. That this short show can convey so much in a brief hour, not only of the play itself but of 21st century responses to it, is a tremendous tribute to the quality of the cast, of the creative team, and of Orla O'Loughlin's immaculate, flowing direction; and of course, to Ramesh Meyyappan himself, performer and creator, and now surely Scotland's leading artist in the world of theatre that reaches beyond language, to touch our hearts and souls. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
David Greig on his final production at Edinburgh's Lyceum Theatre: 'it felt vital that this play be seen in Scotland'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The American playwright Katori Hall was born in Memphis, Tennessee, 44 years ago; so it's perhaps not surprising that early in her career, when she was still only in her twenties, she was moved to write a play that revolves around one of the most momentous events ever to take place in her home city. On 4 April 1968, the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King was shot dead on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The previous night, he had delivered his 'I Have Been To The Mountaintop' speech at a rally in the city, as part of an intense campaign tour. Hall's award-winning play – first seen in London in 2009 – is set in the hours following that speech, when King, alone in his room, encounters a hotel maid, Camae; a young woman with the face of an angel, who, it turns out, is something quite other than she seems. Now, the play is receiving its Scottish professional premiere at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. The production also marks the final production of David Greig's ten-year stint as artistic director of the theatre, as James Brining takes over the reins. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'With the world in polarised chaos,' says David Greig, 'it just felt urgent and vital to me that this play be seen in Scotland. Caleb Roberts and Shannon Hayes in rehearsals for The Mountaintop PIC: Daniel Holden 'Dr King's 'I Have A Dream' speech was such a high point in postwar history, and his assassination a corresponding low. 'Both are the seeds of so much of the world we live in now; and Katori Hall's play is a modern classic, that tackles that moment head on.' In Edinburgh, the play will be directed by Rikki Henry, a young British director who has worked extensively in France and Germany in recent years, with Shannon Hayes playing Camae, and Caleb Roberts in the role of Martin Luther King. 'I first saw the play almost ten years ago, when it was revived at the Old Vic,' say Henry, 'and it really made me concentrate, and begin to see things differently. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It shows Martin Luther King in a new light, as a human being rather than an iconic hero, and I think there's a real urgency about reviving it now, when all these ideas are being challenged again. Caleb Roberts in rehearsals for The Mountaintop PIC: 'Towards the end of the play, King talks about legacy, and about passing on the baton of the huge campaigns he led. 'And I think that today, when there's so much political chaos, the question we have to ask is where is the baton? Who has it now, and how can we support them? "One thing the play makes clear, though, is that you don't have to be a celebrity to play your part, and to make an impact.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I've been reading a lot about Dr King's life,' says Caleb Roberts, 'and watching film of him, of course, and certainly his presence is huge, and it's a challenge to capture that. "Without giving anything away, there are aspects of this production that make it easier to show how strong he was, physically as well as emotionally and intellectually. "But he was human, too; and I hope this play encourages people at least to see him a little differently. I know theatre can't often change people's minds; but it can maybe change their perspective a little, and I hope this play does that.' And Shannon Hayes agrees. 'I think one of the most important messages of this play is that no matter how low or small you are, or feel yourself to be, your actions still matter. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "Everybody has a shared responsibility in shaping what the future looks like, and no one can avoid that responsibility by putting the whole weight on the shoulders of a leader who is supposed to fix it all. "And if we can make people feel that shared responsibility for taking Dr King's legacy forward – well, then we'll be doing a good job, with this amazing play.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Stage Theatre presents ‘The Mountaintop'
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – New Stage Theatre will present Katori Hall's The Mountaintop, a powerful and thought-provoking drama that reimagines the final night of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. before his assassination. Opening February 4 and running through February 16, The Mountaintop takes audiences behind the public figure to reveal a deeply human and vulnerable side of one of history's most iconic leaders. Curtain times and dates for performances are February 4 – 8, 11, and 13 – 15 at 7:00 p.m., February 12 at 1:00 p.m., and February 9 & 16 at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $35.00 with discounts available for students, senior citizens, military, and groups. A special Schoolfest Matinee performance is at 10:00 a.m. on February 6. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, charged by phone by calling the theatre at (601) 948-3533 Ext 223, or ordered online at For Schoolfest Matinee booking information, contact Melissa Tillman at 601-948-3533 ext. 226 or mtillman@ Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
