The riveting play A Man Like You, a masterful examination of the mind of a terrorist by Silvia Cassini which completed its successful Kenyan run in mid-March, is set to bow Off-Broadway starting July 11 at the Iati Theatre, New York.
Already in pre-production, A Man Like You is scheduled for a 21-day run through July 31. Rehearsals with the freshly selected New York cast begin in mid-June a month ahead of the play’s New York premiere.
The New York leg is still very much a Kenyan affair. Silvia will as the executive produce while another Kenyan-born thespian will co-produce and also comprise the cast as Patrick North. Matthew Stannah, whose New York based African/Carribean inspired production company RED Soil is responsible for bringing the play to the Big Apple.
Rounding off the cast is a trio of sprightly-looking young actors who were cast through an online audition process. Playing the tumultuous Abdi is Jeffery Alkins who has had a taste of African written roles portraying Thami Mbikwana in Athol Fugard’s My Children! My Africa!, Jenny Boote (Viola in Twelfth Night) takes up the role of Elizabeth North and Andrew Clarke will feature as Hassan.
Since New York is a whole different ball game and playwrights don’t usually direct their own material, Silvia will not be visualising the script as she did in the Kenyan runs. The shows will instead be directed by Strawberry One-Act Festival Award winner and RED Soil Productions’ resident director Yudelka Heyer.
But what Silvia did do is take it upon herself to painstakingly redline her script with the origin, thoughts and intentions behind each and every single line in the one-and-a-half-hour-long play to create what she calls a director’s copy for Yudelka. This she tells me is uncommon for a playwright to do for a director.
Nothing much will change in the script. In fact it might be longer if the director opts to use Silvia’s extended script so as to expand on some paragraphs with an eye to educate the American audience on issues such as the history of piracy in the horn of Africa. The Somali dialogue which is really important for authenticity purposes will remain as originally is. And just like the Kenyan cast, the New York cast are also getting a speech tutor.
Only a 20-minute transit from the Iati Theatre is Broadway Theatre; where Lupita Nyong’o is currently performing in another powerful African play, Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed, and where Silvia hopes to make it into with A Man Like You.
