Katori Hall swears she never intended to court controversy. Nevertheless, in 2010, less than a year after graduating from Julliard’s esteemed playwriting program, she debuted a new work that touched on one of America’s most untouchable figures of the 20th century, Dr Martin Luther King.
To put it mildly, the reception was mixed. Hall was quickly compared to both Angels in America writer, Tony Kushner, and Madea Goes To Jail writer, Tyler Perry. After playing on Broadway and in London’s West End (snaring an Oliver Award for Best Play along the way), The Mountaintop – a fictionalised account of the civil rights leader’s last night before his assassination at a Memphis motel in 1968 – is now being staged by the Queensland Theatre Company.
In certain African American homes in the south, Dr King’s portrait sits alongside that of Jesus. Hall’s urge to humanise Dr King (Pacharo Mzembe) is immediate – as he first enters Room 306 at the dingy Lorraine Motel we hear him shout to a friend to urgently return with a packet of Pall Malls, before he kicks off his odorous shoes, loosens his tie, urinates and paces the room, anxious over the wording of his next speech. A desperate call to room service for a cup of coffee sees the arrival of Camae (Candy Bowers), a brazen, fast-talking maid, partway through her very first shift. As midnight passes and before a new day dawns, the pair go back and forth over the right course for equality, argue about spirituality, come to terms with mortality… and chain-smoke.
The rhythm of language can be an unfamiliar obstacle in this play, but as Dr King, Mzembe more than meets the challenge. Though his oratory skills may not quite match those of the Reverend’s, he even sounds like Dr King. While Bowers’s southern accent is a long way from flawless, her ease and confidence in character carries us over any distracting Australian twang that sneaks in. And it’s Bowers who anchors this production, whose easy charm makes gutter-mouth Camae so damn appealing, tiptoeing along the edge of flirtatious and maternal. Credit must go to director Todd MacDonald for placing Bowers in a role that suitably showcases the full breadth of her talents.
Hall is a young and ambitious playwright, crucified for being young and ambitious. Certainly she’s over-reliant on flashy theatrics, the play plods along until its ‘big reveal’ and autobiographical details feel quoted from an encyclopaedia, rather than raised organically. Still, it’s deserving of more laughter than it receives. Hall has a flair for a certain turn of phrase and it’s almost as if the audience is afraid to laugh. Perhaps the silence is due to the fact that the play feels largely targeted to a younger crowd, but the older set who actually fill seats at the Playhouse take longer to settle into the tone.
Now well into its run, stage effects are perfected – lighting designer Ben Hughes has collaborated with media designers optikal bloc to create something truly transformative, even dreamlike. No doubt the performers, too, have settled into the odd magic of it all. Though The Mountaintop can be an arduous slog, keep moving – everything’s much clearer from a height.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
The Mountaintop
Queensland Theatre Company
By Katori Hall
Directed by Todd MacDonald
Cast: Candy Bowers, Pacharo Mzembe
Lighting Design: Ben Hughes
Designer: Kieran Swann
Sound Designer: Tony Brumpton
Composer: Busty Beatz
Playhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, South Bank
www.qpac.com.au
22 February – 16 March
