A Man of Good Hope Review

A Man of Good Hope is Asad Abdullahi’s biographical musical about being an orphan refugee during Somalia’s civil war. The story follows Abdullahi beginning with his mother shot in front of him. Abdullahi travels to Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg and Cape Town where he encounters xenophobia, struggles for necessities and moves between family and community members including a cousin, a wife and a son, without a permanent home. A lively, gregarious and powerful production, this show portrays Abdullahi’s life to convey the struggles of many due to war.

This book by South African writer Jonny Steinberg was extraordinarily executed by South African theatre company Isango Ensemble. The marimbas and djembe drums personify African music, setting the scene with an African ensemble cast switching between roles. They masterfully age the character, the incoming and outgoing Abdullahi going back to back, spinning, and ending with the incoming actor turned toward the audience creating visual aging. There were not intricate sets and usage of props was minimal. The show was vividly brought to life with stage direction and marvelous acting. Wardrobe choice was simple and actors wore no shoes, producing an authentic African portrayal and adding to the acting focus.

Four actors play four prominent ages of Abdullahi: child, teen, young adult and mature adult. The youngest Abdullahi was the best actor whose native accent, humor, charm and ability to play off the audience were extremely well received. A woman played the teen actor and had an excellent singing voice, showing a compassionate and kind Abdullahi. The young adult actor portrayed a grown up and assured Abdullahi as he began to mature, and secure resources and romance. Finally, the older adult actor was an honest and kind yet powerful, similar to the youngest actor, depicting maturity and wisdom.

This show’s production included Director Mark Dornford-May, a conductor, musical director, movement head, light and speech head and dialogue coach. These categories represent the play: focused on direction of actors and subtleties of sets. This story educates about disadvantaged and discriminated people, displaying both their realities and power to overcome hardship.