Congo, The Trial of King Leopold II - Theatrical Programme (John Kani, Robert Whitehead)

Theatrical Programme, The Market Theatre, 2018, original, multi page, condition: very good.

Congo: The Trial of King Leopold II is a play written and performed by veteran actors John Kani and Robert Whitehead, who worked with young director Lesedi Job to develop the script.

It was adapted from Mark Twains satirical pamphlet King Leopolds Soliloquy written in 1905, where Twain had the vainglorious monarch defending his rule. The king ran the Congo as his personal fiefdom from 1885 to 1908, when ivory, rubber, copper and diamonds all flowed out of Africa and into Belgium. Blood flowed too, with millions slaughtered and many more mutilated by having their hands hacked off for not working hard enough for their colonial masters. Many others died when high taxes caused the starvation of entire villages.

The atrocities came to the fore again in 2005 when the Africa Museum in Belgium hosted a conference to debate the truth captured in the book King Leopolds Ghost by Adam Hochschild.

John Kani does what John Kani does most often, by playing a man with gravitas and importance.

Robert Whiteheads King Leopold looks the part, speaks the antiquated language of the day, dismisses black people as savages whose lives dont matter, and believes that God is on his side.