A truly precious mother and daughter story that spans generations in Nia Akilah Robinson’s tender play

The spirit of Henrietta Lacks runs through this play, which explores the under-discussed travesty of black bodies that were taken from their graves in the nineteenth century to be medically experimented on, commodified even after death. Opening during a cholera outbreak, Mother (Sainté) and her child, Charity (Fewry) keep watch over Mother’s recently deceased husband. The reason for this vigil is soon made clear as a man, John (Goldbourne), comes with a shovel ready to steal his body. Fast forward to the modern day and the descendants of all of them are working as camp councilors on the site of the same graveyard.

Akilah Robinson’s script weighs every word carefully. The dialogue is often melodic, sometimes heavy, but always arresting. Even the discussions about the need for bodies to progress medical science highlight her knowledge and sensitivity to the topic. Her words are further lifted by Kalungi Ssebandeke’s direction, Chuma Emembolu’s exquisite lighting and José Guillermo Puello’s unobtrusive, note perfect sounds. The garish brightness of the camp contrasts effectively with the moody hues of the graveyard. Alongside this, Romeo Mica and Jack Gouldbourne give exciting performances as Cuffee and John, full of brio and, in their nineteenth century incarnations, broody and menacing.

However, it is the relationship between Sainté and Fewry that truly captures the audience.  Sainté’s Mother is ruled by caution, wise to the world and unwilling to reveal too much of herself to it lest she lose her dignity. Fewry is her opposite, teenage emotion, optimism and revolutionary zeal made manifest. In both timelines, they are the other’s source of strength and by choosing to spotlight their vulnerability, joy and righteousness, as well as strength, the play positions the women and perhaps, by extension, all descendants of enslaved people, as the true gift and hope of their ancestors. The tale of Henrietta Lacks is a modern-day tragedy or triumph, depending on your perspective: The Great Privation is unquestionably a triumph, a declaration that history shapes our future, but we get to walk in it however we choose.

Check out more from Theatre503| Find out more about Nia Akilah Robinson| Kalungi Ssebandeke |
| See more Off/Stage Review Bytes on IG |