Following its world premiere at the Public Theater in New York, Milma’s Tale by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage is running from 11 Oct – 21 Oct 2023 at the Kiln Theatre in London.
Mlima is known as one of the last ‘Great Tuskers’ – elephants with tusks so large they touch the ground. When he is murdered for these magnificent tusks, Mlima’s ghost follows those connected to his death. From poachers, to government officials, to ivory carvers, he watches as capitalism, greed and corruption marks everyone in the ivory trade.
The Artiscape spoke to Actor Natey Jones who plays Geedi.
What attracted you to the script?
Jones: Lynn Nottage has written a really powerful story about of the Ivory trade; the brutal poaching of elephants and the exploitation of Africa. It questions our commodification of living things and how we seek to justify our immorality.
Despite the clarity and beauty of the writing, the most attractive thing about the script was the absence for me. Lynn has created the scenes and characters with directions of Mlima being omnipresent and marking guilty participants of the trade, but she left the performance so open to interpretation.
I had no idea what to expect from rehearsals, but I knew it would be challenging creatively and it really felt like it was a devised piece of work.
Can you tell us about the character you play?
Jones: I play five separate characters: Geedi – a Somalian poacher, Wamwara – a Kenyan Wildlife Ranger, Hassan – a Yoruba Salesman, Ramaaker – an American ship’s Captain and Hong Feng – a Chinese socialite.
They each have a similar goal or aim of survival which can lead them all to do things which challenge their personal integrity or morality.
How do you prepare for a role such as this?
Jones: We were fortunate to be provided with extensive research about the ivory trade, the depleting numbers of elephants and the legal framework that has sought to protect them. This research took the form of documentaries, essays, presentations and news articles; providing a foundation and context to aid the storytelling.
Once rehearsals began it became important to honour the storytelling by also doing a lot of accent work with Hazel Holder, our dialect coach, to convincingly portray people from multiple countries.
What are you most looking forward to about performing in this play?
Jones: I am most excited about being a servant to the tale. The story is paramount and it almost feels like telling a story around a campfire. Ira who plays Mlima is the only performer who is devoted to one character, the rest of us play multiple roles and it tells me that we are here to serve Mlima the elephant and his painful story.
It is a collaboration which feels free from judgment where we as performers have embraced activism and the possibility that art can have an influence.
What do you think an audience will enjoy about the play?
Jones: It’s haunting beauty.
Image Credit: Marc Brenner
Natey Jones theatre work includes The Harder They Come (Public Theatre, New York); Get Up, Stand Up (Lyric Theatre); Rockets and Blue Lights (Royal Exchange Theatre); Death of a Salesman (Piccadilly Theatre); Small Island (National Theatre); One Love: The Bob Marley Musical (Birmingham Rep); Doctor Faustus, Don Quixote, The Alchemist (RSC) and Tomorrow (The White Bear). For television, his work includes Casualty, Father Brown, and Waffle the Wonder Dog; and for film, Pretty Red Dress, Together, and Alpha & Omega.
