An inspirational leader... and the president

OBAMA THE MAMBA, PRESIDENT OF THE SLUMS Lowry Quays, to Saturday
KEVIN Fegan’s new play is a remarkable piece of work about two remarkable half-brothers, one of whom has become an inspirational leader, the other the president of the United States.

George Hussein Obama was born in Kenya two decades after his brother Barack had been born to the same father in America.

Whether it was the Nairobi slums, the bad influences, the easy availability of drink, the lax attitude to crime and death or the absence of a father he never knew, George grew up very quickly, and at every important step along the way, seemed to make the wrong choices.

Though bright and eloquent, he spent almost a year in one of the world’s worst 10 prisons in his teens, drank heavily, robbed bus passengers and failed his school exams.

Dreams of being a pilot became more muggings and robberies to feed himself and his friends — he found himself to be a natural leader. According to the play — based on Obama’s autobiography — in early adulthood George realised he had to clean up his life and turned instead to leading, teaching and helping his fellow slum dwellers.

Fegan draws broad parallels between the lives and careers of the two men and it is clear throughout that George is extremely proud of “Barry’s” achievements.

What is all the more staggering about this lively, intense and exciting primer on the cheapness of life and death among Nairobi’s poor is that it is entirely delivered by one man, actor Clifford Samuel, who performs with the aid only of a double-bass player (offering mood and effects) and occasional backdrops on a wood and sand set that leaves him completely exposed for an unbroken hour and forty minutes — a formidable feat of memory.

Samuel’s performance is charming, funny, energetic, inspirational and utterly engrossing and the play likewise — though perhaps 10 minutes less wouldn’t go amiss.

A terrific achievement, strongly recommended.


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