Mud, River, Stone

by Lynn Nottage

An African-American couple vacationing in Africa take a turn off the main highway and find themselves stranded during rainy season in the remnants of a grand hotel. The rundown colonial hotel's only inhabitants are a reticent bellhop and an outspoken white African businessman. As the rains continue, the guest list grows to include a Nigerian aid worker at wits' end and a Belgian adventurer wandering the landscape in search of meaning. The couple's comic and romantic adventure takes on absurd dimensions when the hotel guests are taken hostage by the angry bellhop. His demands are He wants grain for his village and a wool blanket for his mother. The stakes increase when an international mediator arrives and tries to end the stand-off. The couple's relationship is tested by the volatile politics of Africa, and they learn what the hungry human spirit will do for food and a warm blanket.

Genres: Theatre

63 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Lynn Nottage is an American playwright whose work often deals with the lives of marginalized people. She is a professor of Playwriting at Columbia University. She was the first woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice; the first in 2009 for Ruined, and the second in 2017 for Sweat.

Reviews

[ansley hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is just a heartbreaking commentary. probably not meant for me, but i can appreciate phenomenal playwriting when i see it