2010/11 season > Ruined
Ruined
written by lynn nottage
directed by liesl tommy
co-produced with the huntington theatre company and la jolla playhouse
in association with lorraine hansberry theatre
main season | roda theatre
february 25–april 10, 2011 
the play
Berkeley Rep proudly brings you Ruined, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This powerful new play provides a bleak yet beautiful look at the lives of women in a land ruled by whiskey and bayonets. As civil war ravages the Congo, the lucky ones find a home—and a regular meal—in a ramshackle building that serves as both brothel and refuge. Whether merchant, miner or soldier, the man you meet in the morning may be your enemy by sundown. Yet all of them come through Mama’s door for booze and a bit of comfort. Mama Nadi protects her girls with rough compassion, even as she profits from their bodies. This celebrated script from Lynn Nottage tells an intense and important tale filled with humanity, hope and unexpected humor. When Mama talks, you better listen.
the players
Lynn Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined, as well as Obie, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards. A recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, she also penned Intimate Apparel, the nation’s most produced play in 2005/06.
Liesl Tommy, a South African native who grew up under apartheid, is known for working with young African-American writers like Eisa Davis, Danai Gurira and Tracey Scott Wilson.
the buzz
“Dazzling…Sincere, passionate, courageous and acutely argued, Ruined is a remarkable theatrical accomplishment [with] a strongly affirmative sense…This is both a celebration of the endurance and vitality of African women and an unstinting call for us to keep them safer.”—Chicago Tribune
“Explosive…A brash, searing, heart-of-darkness story—periodically shot through with moments of fearsome comedy and the redemptive spirit that suggests the sheer persistence of the life force.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“Raw and genuine…Ms. Nottage has endowed the frail-looking Sophie, as well as the formidable Mama, with a strength that transforms this tale of ruin into a cleareyed celebration of endurance.”—New York Times
“Tough and truthful…Lynn Nottage writes political plays—or, rather, plays about people whose lives have been touched by politics. This crucial distinction is what makes her a playwright rather than a propagandist, and Ruined, in which she shows us what things have come to in the bloody, brutal land that dares to call itself the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaves no doubt that the author of Intimate Apparel and Crumbs From the Table of Joy is one of the best playwrights that we have.”—Wall Street Journal
Berkeley Rep presents a powerful new play that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Ruined by Lynn Nottage.
(Photo by Susan Johann)
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