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Theatre: Masterfully mordant
Set in Trinidad during Carnival, Mustapha Matura’s brilliant satire on colonialism gets a long overdue revival, says MAYER WAKEFIELD
Play Mas
Orange Tree Theatre
Richmond-upon-Thames
4/5
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Flitting between myth and the modern world, Medusa is determined to steer clear of human affairs. When her resolve crumbles, the result is petrifying in every sense
THIS superb revival of Mustapha Matura’s Play Mas leaves you wondering why it has taken over 40 years for it to find its way back on to a British stage.
Paulette Randall’s simmering production certainly makes it worth the wait.
Matura’s finely crafted two-acter is a deeply felt work that delivers a historical and social documentation of Trinidad’s turbulent pre and postcolonial history. The action of both acts is played out during Carnival, the major event of the island’s calendar, when many of its population “‘play mas” — masquerade — in the streets of Port of Spain.
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