Review: An elephant's spirit haunts capitalism in 'Mlima's Tale'

One does not ordinarily think of the global supply chain as a source of tense drama. But a sliver of international trade is brought to disturbing life in Ten Thousand Things Theater's production of "Mlima's Tale," which zeroes in on the sordid market in elephant ivory and the life-and-death consequences for African elephants.

In the Lynn Nottage play, a rare big tusker is targeted by poachers on the African savannah. There are buyers in Asia who covet the fine art that can be made from elephant ivory and would rather not hear about what it takes to sate their desires.

But as director Ansa Akyea's taut, palpable production makes clear, the costs are huge and implicate not only corrupt officials all along the journey — from raw material to finished product — but also governments and consumers.

"Mlima's" is similar to the "The Lion King," perhaps the most famous theater work set on the African savannah, in that both begin with an elephant marching in. But Nottage's 85-minute one-act play is a more intimate and less celebratory affair as the five actors use their bodies, voices and a few props to suggest a proud pachyderm on parade.

The production is done in Ten Thousand Things' signature bare-bones manner with minimal sets and props, lights up on the audience and performances with power-packed immediacy.

Director Akyea uses an array of tools to make the story vivid and palpable. For starters, the show has a few bits of interactivity, with performers moving before and behind the audience and occasionally engaging theatergoers with banter.

Akyea also draws practices that we now associate with film. When the poacher shoots his poisoned arrow, for example, it's done in cinematic slow motion. The various milieus, from the African bush to the embassy receptions, are evoked with music director Dameun Strange's sonic score.

Brian Bose brings a focused intensity to Mlima, an elephant played by a person. He takes big, deliberate steps. He stomps. He looks audience members deep in their eyes, as if holding them to account. If it's uncomfortable, so be it.

While Bose plays a single character, all the other performers depict multiple roles. Joy Dolo, who plays eight parts, seems to be having the most fun as businessman Aziz Muhammad and as penthouse dweller Alice Ying. The varied parts are an opportunity to show her range, from firm negotiator to slow shopper.

Will Sturdivant (seven parts) has fun tossing his wig as reporter Patience but also plays a park official and an American sea captain. He seems to enjoy drawing his distinct characters without breaking form.

Another Twin Cities pro, Katie Bradley, also merits mention for her range. Bradley's half-dozen characters include a curt Chinese diplomat who also is a collector. She allows us to understand this character as much by silence as by what's spoken.

Clay Man Soo takes the cake with nine roles, including small comic ones such as a waiter and a reporter and, memorably, a shades-wearing customs official and an ivory master carver. That he performs with relish helps give "Mlima" its edge.

In having a person play Mlima, the play draws implicit historical parallels to other bodies that were taken and as part of a global supply chain. It's as haunting as Bose's stares into the eyes of audience members, the silence a kind of indictment of a historic moment.