Well-informed and highly educated and respected talking heads are frustratingly and disappointingly underutlised in this show leaving what is essentially a very basic introduction to a small part of African history illustrated by some pretty poorly scripted if acceptably acted docudrama - both melodramatic and at the same time kinda boring as the drama really isn't very enlightening.
The costume, sets, production are fine, if a little 'small' feeling especially things like palaces and royal dress, and 'native' languages being used as set dressing and to add 'colour' (the production has gone for the C20th/C21st trope of if its 'historical' an RP anglo accent is 'the past' innit!) demonstrate that it isn't enough to bring in a couple of South Africans to get authenticity when telling the stories of this massive and ancient continent from which we all hail.
The show would have benefited from listening to a few more African voices (alongside the black Western academics there are a couple of brilliant profs/Drs from the continent & a female King but most are black Britons/French/Yanks) coz there's a continent full of canny, creative and knowledgable folk innit.
A well-meaning, handsome introduction to snippets of African history.
The costume, sets, production are fine, if a little 'small' feeling especially things like palaces and royal dress, and 'native' languages being used as set dressing and to add 'colour' (the production has gone for the C20th/C21st trope of if its 'historical' an RP anglo accent is 'the past' innit!) demonstrate that it isn't enough to bring in a couple of South Africans to get authenticity when telling the stories of this massive and ancient continent from which we all hail.
The show would have benefited from listening to a few more African voices (alongside the black Western academics there are a couple of brilliant profs/Drs from the continent & a female King but most are black Britons/French/Yanks) coz there's a continent full of canny, creative and knowledgable folk innit.
A well-meaning, handsome introduction to snippets of African history.