The Olivier Awards in the UK are like the Tonys here in America, and because I’m a lover of the theatre, I tuned in.
I was happy to see Matt Henry living his best life and taking home The Olivier Award for Best Actor for his work as Lola in Kinky Boots. It was nice to see Sharon D. Clarke, who is currently portraying Ma Rainey in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black bottom, perform.
Shoot, it got to the point where I was just happy to see any person of color on the stage.
Maybe I’m spoiled by this groundbreaking season on Broadway, that just happens to have many phenomenal performances by black actors and actresses.
But I stuck it out, I stayed tuned in.
What stole the show for me was seeing the stunning Uzo Aduba and the co-stars of her show, The Maids, present an award.
I sat there caught up in the slayage of Ms. Aduba and it hit me. Uzo is starring in a show in The West End and we haven’t gotten a chance to highlight the work she is doing. So here it is.
Uzo Aduba and Zawe Ashton are the maids, but what they’re plotting isn’t quite what trash they’ll take out next, but rather what life. Laura Carmichael of “Downton Abbey,” plays their careless employer, who has made one too many off the hand comments, and she is the one that’s got to go.
Solange (Aduba) and Claire (Ashton) ritualistically act out the murder of their “mistress” (employer) until they decide it’s time to do the deed. Yes, that’s right. It’s like a twisted version of How To Get Away With Murder is on stage. I can only image a bit of “Crazy Eyes” coming out. And I love Crazy Eyes.
On one hand, this workflows in the vein of class, hierarchy and identity of blacks and whites; and on another, the psychologic break down of the masochism and rituals of two women who fantasize about both killing and being their mistress.
It’s sounding like a tale of love and hate. Oppression and obsession. A thriller.
The Maids was written by French dramatist Jean Genet and directed by Jamie Lloyd. The translations were done by Benedict Andrews and Andrew Upton, which was originally commissioned for the Sydney Theatre Company production, starring Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert and played in NYC in 2014. The show is running through May 21, 2016 at Trafalgar Studios.
More on Uzo Aduba:
The two-time Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series is most recognized for her work as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black.” Aduba made history as the first woman and just the second person to win an Emmy in both the Comedy and Drama categories for the same character. She is a classically trained vocalist and first garnered recognition for her acting in 2003, when her performance in “Translations of Xhosa” at the Olney Theatre Center for the Arts earned her a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play. In 2007, she made her Broadway debut, portraying Toby in “Coram Boy.” From 2011 through 2012, she sang “By My Side” as part of the original revival cast of Godspell at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Most recently, Aduba portrayed Glinda the Good Witch in NBC’s “The Wiz Live!”
