We Are Proud To Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884 - 1915

by Jackie Sibblies Drury

I'm not doing a German accent
You aren't doing an African accent
We aren't doing accents

A group of actors gather to tell the little-known story of the first genocide of the twentieth century. As the full force of a horrific past crashes into the good intentions of the present, what seemed a far-away place and time is suddenly all too close to home. Just whose story are they telling?

Award-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury collides the political with the personal in a play that is irreverently funny and seriously brave.

We Are Proud To Present . . . received its European premiere at the Bush Theatre, London, on 28 February 2014.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, History

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2014

About the author

Jackie Sibblies Drury is an American playwright. A native of Plainfield, New Jersey, she is a graduate of Yale and Brown University MFA playwriting program, receiving the David Wickham Prize in Playwriting.

Reviews

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this play because we're about to produce it at work. Really thought-provoking and i'll be interested to see how it translates from page to stage.

[Oliver James · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What's happening is the important thing, it doesn't matter when it happens, or how long it happens for, it's that it's happening. Am I right?"

--

This play does not hold back, and it shouldn't. So many plays have something to say and just don't manage it - this play says it, says it again and then says it a couple more times for good measure. It makes you think about the responsibility creators have to tell the truth, and about how difficult the truth can be to see, to live, and to experience.

I cannot recommend this play enough, but be warned - it is not as light a read as it seems.

[Jessica Hirsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is seriously a masterpiece. Every theatre maker should be familiar with this play. Period.

[Octavia]

Jackie pls call me

[maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

i would kill to see this on stage. i cannot believe FSU did this show actually.

[KJ Velz · Rating 5 out of 5]

do you ever just get hit so hard with a piece of art that you just can't move

[Gordon]

I think we can all agree that plays are meant to be seen rather than simply read. A play is best served by being performed, whether fully produced or merely given a staged reading. While some plays are captivating right off the page, others are not. Jackie Sibblies Drury's We Are Proud To Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 falls into the later category. It is a very awkward script to read.
This is one of those plays where we don't have character names, for the most part, instead having "Actor 1", "Actor 2", etc. Despite this naming practice, it is still very important to the piece that you remember the intended race of each of them. This is a piece that is ostensibly about race, after all, and much of the words they speak come from a place of being of a particular race - in this case, either just black or white. I found it necessary to keep a finger in the front where these "characters" are described for constant reference.
Another aspect to the play that gets obliterated when only reading it is that thematically the play is about the creation of the presentation. The characters move back and forth from presenting to talking about their presentation. It requires two fairly distinct acting styles to help define when they are in one mode versus the other.
Given the drawbacks of truly appreciating the experience of only reading this play, I refrain from giving it a rating. It wouldn't be fair to Ms. Drury or to her work.

[Emmanuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly engaging play following 6 actors who want to put on a play - or presentation more accurately - about the genocide of the African Herero tribe by the Germans in the early 20th century. The stage directions were unlike any I've ever seen, the intercutting of dialogue was brilliant, the characters were well-distinguished despite being given very similar names.

But as engaging as it was, I didn't think it succeeded all that much, that the 6 actors succeeded that is, in bringing to life the tragedy they'd so desperately wanted to bring to life. Their constant bickering and aggression highlighted the different ways in which history is often interpreted, especially when they pertain to a specific group of people and their suffering, but their actual presentation, I didn't think conveyed the subject matter well enough.

Having said that, Drury is definitely a talented individual, the technical aspects of this play felt so refreshing, even though I was reading them, not seeing them play out in front of me, so that's an impressive feat in and of itself. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of her stuff.

[Marina Carlstroem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all Drury plays, it’s hard to really understand this as a script. It’s a testament to her understanding of the form- her plays are meant to be lived and breathed. This play is a struggle, and I can see where germinations of Fairview come in. She is thinking about the inescapable and silent weight of racism in America that blinds us to a non-empathetic understanding of colonial genocides in other countries. Only once those truths come out and the white actors expose their own racism can there be some catharsis. the short scene and process/presentation shifts really worked for me- would love to direct this some day. Did a lot of work around how to memorialize voids when I was in Berlin, and it’s interesting to see this question grappled with from an American perspective because I think we’re a lot worse at it.

[Carlo Hengstler · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first this play confused me but as it's witty dialogue progresses it reveals itself for what it truly is - a comment on the past, the lost aspects of human history and the nature of empathy. How can we ever recover the history of those on the short end of the colonial stick? Is our reality as we know it a product of an unfair distribution of power in the past? How can we even begin to empathise with something we know so little about?
These are the questions this play poses and that is why it is important!
Good read.

[Jordan Muschler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drury is such a ballsy and experimental writer still working in character-based drama. This and Fairview are both absolutely dominated by their theatrical ideas without becoming entrapped, still allowing for natural character drama to engage us and make us care. All of it works extremely well - perhaps until the explosive finale, which I didn’t quite buy. I wish more time had been spent towards making that moment truly believable instead of just insane.

That being said - this play is singular and should not work nearly as well as it does.

[Zoe Hertzberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

musicality jumps off the page. a piece that is particularly poignant for theatre makers (I think especially in this time) but will be enjoyable(?) for all audiences - it is a piece that doesn't require a theatre making background to understand, but as someone who comes from the devising world seeing all of the process discussion scenes was very funny to me. It is comically painful, I would say a dark comedy. Would love to see it in-person!

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocking, challenging, uncomfortable, this play will not allow audiences to avoid the topics at hand, but instead guide them firmly to sink into and accept the feeling of discomfort to more fully grasp the severity of the colonial racism and genocide the Herero were victim to. Highly recommend this read, or watch if the show is being produced near you.

[Caroline Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very powerful piece, but like with most theater, looses something on the page. I recommend gathering friends to read it out loud or better yet find it performed near you!

[Zeba Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever, deliberately uncomfortable and thoughtful exploration of race, colonialism and theatre.

[Megan Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this - can't wait to design it this fall!

[charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly clever and challenging play. I hope to see it performed someday.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Kelsey Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

best play i've read in years

[Diana Rendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

i. fucking. love. Jackie. Sibblies. Drury.

[Reed Hickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really amazing, reading it versus seeing it on stage is a totally different experience. So excited to audition for this

[Evan Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable. Funny, harrowing, important, inventive, unique. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, I didn’t

[laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

thoughts need to marinate, i think i need to see this live to really have a solid opinion on it

[Niya]

Read for HIST:3859

[Francis Bass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. This play is really engaging, overflowing with hilarious and painfully realistic actor-actor conflicts, big questions, and difficult arguments about how to tell stories, and how to present the history of a people who were almost entirely wiped out. Also, the stage directions are full of personality and make it a great read

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A play every historian should read.

[Cary S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Donald Quist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterful.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, creative, topical, incendiary play about representing the past and grappling with race and theater. Is it dangerous or a moral obligation to tell the stories of those whose records have been lost to time? Can we perform 'the other' in theater without bringing ourselves to a part? Can a group freaking collaborate?

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has made me stop in my tracks and think for days now. It is surprising, innovative and intensely real. Thank you to Jack Scaletta for recommending that I read it.