'If you not give elephant proper burial he'll haunt you forever.'

They call him Mlima, the mountain - a magnificent elephant slaughtered by poachers for his tusks. Beginning in a game park in Kenya, we follow the trajectory of the tusks through the international ivory-trade market, while Mlima's spirit is close behind, marking all those complicit in his barbaric death.

Lynn Nottage's play Mlima's Tale is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, rage-inducing portrait of humankind's capacity for corruption and greed, and our continued destruction of the natural world. It was first produced at The Public Theater, New York City, in 2018, and received its British premiere at Kiln Theatre, London, in 2023, directed by Miranda Cromwell.

About the Author

Lynn Nottage has twice won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama - for Ruined and Sweat. Her other plays include Intimate Apparel; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark and Clyde's.

Reviews

'A beautiful, endlessly echoing portrait of a murder and its afterlife. Ms. Nottage shaped this story with such theatrical inventiveness and discipline that it never feels sensational... A finely wrought fusion of elements'

-- Ben Brantley * New York Times *

'Mlima's Tale, a haunting drama about avarice and ivory, offers a dramatic reminder that the majestic beasts endure things no living creature would want to recall... This lacerating and lyrical play leaves a mark'

* New York Daily News *

'Tightly crafted... Mlima's Tale is dedicated to excavating the gnarly human details behind the assault on one of the planet's most endangered animals'

* Vulture *

'An enthralling piece of theater that tells a fascinating story in a daringly original way... Riveting'

* Wall Street Journal *

'Clear, uncluttered, and hard-hitting... A play of rare beauty, rare understanding, and great moral power'

* Hartford Courant *

'Haunting and powerful... a play that jolts us awake'

* The Times *

'A wide-reaching and damning indictment of the ivory trade... Nottage's story encapsulates the complex struggles of conservation and the deep-rooted tentacles of corruption'

* Guardian *

'A brutal, beautiful experience... magical and deeply moving'

* Evening Standard *

'A brutal, devastating drama... simple but remarkable'

* Telegraph *

'A simple, powerful tale about the rape of Africa...exquisite and moving'

* Arts Desk *

'Punchy... a simple story... one of grace, care and properly deep sadness... Nottage's strength as a writer is that Mlima's silent presence is enough to make you enraged. No words are wasted here - she doesn't need them to be'

* Time Out *

'Thought-provoking and haunting... the genius of Nottage's script is that it compactly illustrates - without polemical oversimplification nor overcomplication - how competing urges for status, art, power, love, family and survival interconnect to form haunting tragedy again and again across ancient trade routes and alliances... an emotionally and sensorially immersive experience'

* LondonTheatre1 *

'Hypnotic... mesmerises from beginning to end'

* Theatre Weekly *

'Powerful and urgent, with a brutal, poetic and eye-opening script'

* Broadway World *



Book Information
ISBN 9781839042676
Author Lynn Nottage
Format Paperback
Page Count 72
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books
Weight(grams) 91g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 5mm