‘Darfur’ shocks as tale of inhumanity, survival

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

It begins with one of those harrowing car rides through a war zone — the kind where sniper fire can come from any angle, a land mine might be set off at any point, and for varying reasons, each occupant of the vehicle might be prime prey for “the rebels,” or “government forces,” or whoever is carrying an automatic weapon.

The road leads out of Sudan and into the neighboring African nation of Chad. And as to why the three people in the car ­— Carlos, an American doctor of Argentine descent; Maryka, an American correspondent for a major newspaper, and Hawa, a horribly brutalized Sudanese woman who is now a refugee — are in a state of high anxiety will become the focus of Winter Miller’s “In Darfur.” The play is receiving its Chicago premiere in a fiercely vivid, ingeniously crafted multimedia production by TimeLine Theatre, where director Nick Bowling (“The History Boys”) has forged a terrific collaboration with his outstanding design team comprised of Andrew Hansen, Mike Tutaj, Amanda Sweger, Lindsey Pate, Nic Jones and Jesse Klug.

The show is accompanied by a handsome photo display and copious program notes that attempt to explain the horrors that have unfolded in the Darfur region of Sudan since the 1980s. And you will wonder: Has this place been the site of a genocide, ethnic cleansing, civil war or just a mad and vicious land grab for a largely barren desert?

But the play, whose author was a research assistant for New York Times correspondent Nicholas Kristof and accompanied him on one of his many trips to Darfur, goes beyond docudrama to deal with many more wide-ranging issues. It asks: How is news about Africa dealt with by the media, whether the New York Times or Al Jazeera? What do journalistic ethics really mean these days? Are do-good aide workers useless in calamitous wartime situations? And how do the victims of war, particularly women, manage to carry on in life?

The story is this: Hawa (the richly expressive Mildred Marie Langford) is an educated Muslim woman who has studied literature in Khartoum and is fluent in English. She watched as her husband and son were murdered in their native village. She herself was gang-raped and is now pregnant. Stumbling into a refugee camp, she is treated by a volunteer doctor, Carlos (Gregory Isaac), but when a rebel soldier invades the camp he beats Hawa with horrific savagery (the reality of this scene is beyond shocking), and Carlos can do nothing but stand by in total impotence.

Meanwhile, Maryka (Kelli Simpkins) is struggling to get Darfur on the front page despite the barriers raised by Jan (Tyla Abercrumbie), her editor at the Times, who just happens to be a black woman. The story is too complicated, Jan tells her, it needs harder evidence, and there is competing news from other global hot spots. A human face is needed. Hawa, the teacher who loves Edith Wharton’s novels, fits the bill. And so to bring attention to Darfur (and herself), Maryka betrays Hawa, putting her life in further jeopardy.

Miller’s play can feel a bit forced at times, but she covers a lot of ground, and like a good working journalist, she knows what she must do to make her story accessible. The subtly angry-sexy scenes between Carlos and Maryka are perfection. And there is fine supporting work by Brian-Alwyn Newland, Eddie Jordan III and Ebony Wimbs. You will not walk away indifferent.