AugustWilson.net
King Hedley II
by
Ben Clover
Eighth in
August Wilson's nine play cycle illustrating the Black American experience in
the Twentieth century, King Hedley II is a powerful and affecting drama
reminiscent of Arthur Miller's small scale tragedies. Set in Pittsburgh in 1985,
the soundtrack of early hip hop as you come in immediately lets you know where
you are. Centred around ex-con King Hedley (Nicholas Monu), we see his fierce
aspirations and his gradual return to crime. Unusually, this isn't the engine of
the tragedy, it is family secrets and honour codes that ensure there is blood on
the ground at the end of the third act.
The piece cleverly evoked the sense of possibility in this decade when a black
middle class did begin to emerge. Yet in the end we also see the truth of poor
people everywhere, that things never change much for the better, that to get
ahead means stealing from others as poor as you and that pride is an expensive
thing to have.
My only real problems with the piece are a lack of clarity in the final scene,
when the fight direction made it unclear as to exactly what was going on. Sadly
this blurs the focus at the climax and leaves the audience unable to understand
the characters fully (although it does encourage speculation and perhaps this is
the point).
The cast are uniformly excellent. Nicholas Monu brings a regal bearing to the
title role but, such were the strengths of the supporting characters, that at
the end it felt more like a societial sacrifice than his personal tragedy.
Tonya's (Rakie Ayola) role was slight for most of the play but she tore into her
centrepiece speech like it had been boiling inside her for far too long. However
it is travelling hustler Elmore (Joseph Marcell) and King's friend Mister (Eddie
Nestor) who really steal the show. Marcell has a presence that demands your
absolute attention and his performance managed to evoke both a flawed man and
someone aware of himself as an instrument of fate. As King Hedley's lieutenant
Nestor was everything a good Horatio should be: loyal, aware and helpless to
save his friend. Mister also has the funniest lines and delivers them with a
precision the Pentagon would envy.
For a three hour piece the play does well to hold the audiences attention as
strongly as it does and I look forward to the final play of the nine. The night
ends almost magically as spilt blood revives a cat said to have lived since
1619, a significant date making it probably the most symbolic cat's miaow ever
heard on the English stage.
http://www.curtainup.com/kinghedleylond.html
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