Les Blancs

A poignant tale of racial tension

Lorraine Hansberry (A Raisin In The Sun) considered this 1970 work to be her most important. Directed by Yael Farber, this revival of the play conveys the end days of colony, as an African man who was schooled in Western Europe must return to his home country to attend the funeral of his father - who happened to be a revolutionary activist against the white colonial powers. The country is a tinderbox about to spark up, and this is felt in the missionary complex where his family resides; upon arriving he discovers that his young brother is a listless alcoholic and his older brother a priest who has all but betrayed his people for a life of comfort.

Shocked at the racial tension between his family and the white colonials, he finds himself torn between the struggles of his people and the life he has become accustomed to in the West. When he is asked to step into his father's shoes, he faces a stark choice - to lead the insurgency against the colonial powers, or to return home to his wife and child to resume his life. Time is running low as the country descends into civil war - but who is the mysterious woman who is haunting his dreams and beckoning for him to stay?