Resistance, resilience, and the development of revolutionary consciousness lie at the heart of Apphia Campbell’s Through the Mud. Presented with a raw intensity, this tale of two Black women coming to terms with, then struggling against oppression in different eras in America proves to be a very well-crafted and emotionally charged piece of theatre.
A very well-crafted and emotionally charged piece of theatre
The play’s narrative weaves together the lives of two women separated by decades. On one side of the temporal divide, we have Campbell playing Assata Shakur in the 70s, the indomitable Black Panther whose life of activism, brutal treatment by the American state, and eventual escape and exile remains a powerful symbol of resistance. On the other, we follow Ambrosia, played by Tinashe Warikandwa, a young college student who gets caught up in protests following the shooting by police of a young Black man in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.
Decades pass, and while some things change, some things remain the same. The pervasive and overt racism that Shakur faced in the 70s has given way to more sophisticated structures of daily oppression – but when things turn ugly, state-sanctioned violence remains just as shocking. As the initially naïve Ambrosia learns, the struggle for freedom is far from over, and her journey into the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement echoes the development of Shakur’s own struggle, albeit with a different and less drastic outcome. The parallels are poignant, underlining the painful persistence of racial injustice.
As far as the performances themselves go, Campbell’s portrayal of Shakur is nothing short of mesmerising. She embodies the revolutionary’s fierce spirit and vulnerability with a profound authenticity that commands the stage, and she once more shows the strength of her singing voice, which was on display in the excellent Black Is the Color of My Voice. Warikandwa’s role requires a different sort of energy, less powerful and more hopeful, but she too puts on a great performance and shows no shortage of vocal skill.
Through the Mud does not shy away from its message. It is unapologetically didactic at times, but is as much a call to action as it is a reflection on history. It demands that its audience confront uncomfortable truths and consider the ongoing fight for justice with renewed urgency. It is a vital and stirring contribution to the discourse on race and resistance.
