Lynn nottages new drama, produced at the oregon shakespeare festival, examines two generations of factory workers and the decline of industry in the united states. A rain forest bar and brothel in the brutally wartorn congo is the setting for lynn nottages extraordinary new play. To ask other readers questions about ruined, please sign up. Like her pulitzerprizewinning ruined, lynn nottage developed sweat from many onthespot interviews with people in this predicament, whose stories and comments flesh out the drama that connects and thrusts home its meaning and impact. Lynn nottages ruined directed by kate whoriskey at manhattan theatre club. Sweat was originally produced on broadway at studio 54 by stuart thompson and louise l. Lynn nottages pulitzer prizewinning drama ruined, set during congos civil war. Lynn nottages pulitzerwinning drama, set in a congolese bar in the middle of a civil war, achieves a shattering intensity in director charles. On one of her usually busy days running her bar brothel, mama nadi is visited by christian, a regular customer who also. Nottage is one of our finest playwrights, a smart, empathetic and daring storyteller who tells a story an audience wont expect. But theres no containing ruined within a geographic niche not given the way nottage has. Set in a congo brothel during a civil war, nottage is the real deal. Lynn nottages ruined wins drama prize 2009 alexis soloski, lynn nottages ruined. Intimate apparel and what lies beneath my plays alexis soloski the pulitzerwinning brooklyn playwright talks about writing lost voices into the theatre.
Lynn nottage in her play ruined portrays the life of the congolese woman. It is a moving story that was inspired by the true accounts of women who survived such cruelty. Simon goes with fortune to mother nadis bar to discover salima. Lynn nottage s pulitzer prize winning play ruined takes place at mama nadis brothel in the congo where a civil war is being waged and coltan is the new gold being mined from the earth.
Set in wartorn congo, this play explores the stories of women trying to survive after and during brutal experiences. Unlike intimate apparel which was inspired by the playwrights seamstress grandmother and which deservedly won the new york drama critics best play award, her new play does not have the american setting the pulitzer committee tends to prefer. Salima a character in ruined by lynn nottage author sex. See all books authored by lynn nottage, including ruined, and antigone project, and more on. Warm, intelligent, and deeply human, lynn nottages intimate apparel explores the desire for both independence and connection, the insidious effects of racism and classism, the social oppression of women, and the bravery, hard work, friendship, and love, of people who have been forgotten by history. Sophie sings, as salima and josephine talk with men. It is a moving story that was inspired by the true. On lynn nottages ruined critical stagesscenes critiques. Indeed, as a tip of the hat to one of the women she interviewed, she also named a composite character in ruined as salima. The pulitzer is supposed to go to a distinguished play.
What a powerhouse of a playwright exposing those who follow her work to real issues in todays world. She always shows a depth of understanding and respect for her characters usually restless searchers, forgotten people and. Mama nadi owns a bar in the wartorn country, and most of the plays action occurs inside the bar. The atrocities of modernday africa come to life on stage in lynn nottages ruined. In discussions of lynn nottages ruined 2009, one reoccurring issue among theatre scholars is the work that the play does as a performance about war and women. Lynn nottages beautiful, hideous and unpretentiously important play is a shattering, intimate journey into faraway news reports. An analysis of lynn nottage s ruined takes place at mama nadi s 1435 words 6 pages. Poof by lynn nottage analysis by marc hills on prezi. Presentation mode open print download current view. Based on nottages extensive research and interviews with real residents of reading, sweat is a topical reflection of the present.
Sophie a character in ruined by lynn nottage author sex. Obviously, being a pulitzer prizewinner doesnt hurt, but what really made us want to talk to lynn was the breadth of her workfrom a play like intimate apparel which can even be good if youre seeing a college productionbelieve me, i know to ruined to by the way, meet vera stark. Reading of lynn nottages sweatact 1 directed by richard scharine december 2017 salt lake city. I have now read three of nottages plays and been impressed by all of them. In selecting lynn nottages ruined as the winner of this years pulitzer prize for drama, the board has made a choice both obvious and odd. Linda winer, newsday an intense and gripping new drama.
Ruined tcg edition kindle edition by nottage, lynn. No stranger to dramas both heartfelt and heartwrenching, pulitzer prizewinning playwright lynn nottage has written one of her most exquisitely devastating tragedies to date. Lynn nottages ruined is set in the democratic republic of the congo. As the play begins, mama is speaking with a salesman named christian who periodically visits the bar. A haunting, probing work about the resilience of the human spirit during times of war. Set near her hometown of reading, pennsylvania, sweat details the life of a close knit group of friends who have been affected by their factory closing, ending the. Lynn nottage s ruined is a script for a play that has won several best plays of 2009 awards. Based on nottages extensive research and interviews with residents of reading, sweat is a topical reflection of the present and poignant outcome of americas economic decline. The war has ravaged her country, and especially the young girls who have literally been torn to pieces by soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Winner of the 2009 pulitzer prize for drama a powerhouse drama. The establishments shrewd matriarch, mama nadi, keeps peace between customers from both sides of the civil war, as government soldiers and rebel forces alike choose from her inventory of women, many already ruined by rape and torture when they were pressed into.
Lynn nottages sweat gives us characters filled with the good and the bad and asks us to reflect on our own views and the views of others. This essay creates a theoretical frame interweaving jill dolans concept of. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading ruined tcg edition. The owner of a bar and brothel, mama is a shrewd woman in her early forties who entertains. Ruined is the 2009 pulitzer winning drama by lynn nottage. Sweat susan smith blackburn prize, by the way, meet vera stark, ruined, intimate apparel, fabulation, or the reeducation of undine, crumbs from the table of joy. She gets him a soda and gives him a list of requests. On friday night, i attended one of the closing showings of ruined at the berkeley rep theater, a play written by lynn nottage about the plight of women during the democratic republic of congos civil war. He attempts to dissuade fortune, advising him that the warriors are at fault for his torment and his loss of his significant other, not salima herself. Topics on the quiz will include the brothel and bar in the congo. This study guide consists of approximately 49 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of ruined.
The production team was the same as the public theaters, with the following change made to the cast. Lynn nottages new play, ruined manhattan theatre club, 3809, rewrites mother courage and her children in the context of war in the democratic republic of congo. Set in a small mining town in the democratic republic of the congo, lynn nottage s ruined follows mama nadi, a businesswoman who is trying to stay afloat in a world torn apart by civil war. Valencia theater valencia performing art center black box. Pdf lynn nottages ruined 2009 takes place at mama nadis, a brothel. Mama nadis brothel is an oasis for civilians and soldiers alike in lynn nottages ruined.
Set in 2008, the powerful crux of this new play is knowing the fate of the characters long before its even in their sights. Lynn nottages sweat is a play set in 2000 and 2008 that explores the tension in a group of friends in the midst of layoffs at a factory in reading, pennsylvania tracey and. Her plays have been produced widely in the united states and throughout the world. Lynn nottage was in that section of the spreadsheet. Several days before the opening of ruined at manhattan theatre club, i interviewed lynn nottage at a times square diner. With a rightwing president at the helm, our list of grievances has. With ruined, lynn nottage may well nab a pulitzer prize. Analysis and discussion of characters in lynn nottages ruined. These resources will help you to determine the breadth of your knowledge about lynn nottages ruined. Set in one of the poorest cities in america, reading, pa, a group of d. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Sweat tcg edition by lynn nottage pdf, epub ebook d0wnl0ad winner of the 2016 susan smith blackburn prize from first moments to last, this compassionate but cleareyed play throbs with heartfelt life, with characters as complicated as any youll encounter at the theater today, and with a nifty ticking time bomb of a plot.
Analysis of ruined by lynn nottage 1070 words bartleby. Lynn nottage is a pulitzer prizewinning playwright and screenwriter. She weaves a story that chills spectators with its violence and moves us with the remnants of compassion evident in even the most hardboiled of the plays characters. How do these senses of a warrior compare to the character actually being described in the song, i. When the plant threatens to cut wages and lay off workers, the friends turn against each other as they struggle to stay afloat. Laurent in the rundown of characters, laurent is depicted as a government trooper, osembengas right hand. Set in a small mining town in the congo, this powerful play follows a shrewd businesswoman in a land torn apart by civil war. Sweat tcg edition by lynn nottage edgardofollieromrs. Linda winer, newsdayan intense and gripping new drama. Ultimately, ruined reminds us that the borders of ones space, both in the physical world and when pertaining to ones identity, are constantly subject to transgression, invasion, and ruin.
Meet mama nadi, the protaganist of lynn nottages ruined. Lynn nottage is a pulitzer prize winning playwright and a screenwriter. She is the first woman playwright to be honored twice. Kitchen over a period of ten minutes marc hills, tiyena brown, brooke stikes, deija plot background info on. Sweat switches between 2000 and 2008 as lynn nottage tells the story of a group of friends that works together on the factory floor. Nottage is the first woman to win the award for playwrights twice and has won multiple awards for her work. Winner of the 2009 pulitzer prize for dramaa powerhouse drama. Its hard putting each character to a face at first but as you continue reading the personalities blossom and its easy to establish who. Lynn nottage is the recipient of two pulitzer prize awards for drama for sweat and ruined. Lynn nottage books list of books by author lynn nottage. The main characters in ruined are mama nadi, christian, sophie, and salima.