Ensuring Survival

Much, if not most, of the action of the play is grounded in the work’s primary thematic interest – an exploration of what people in a time of war are prepared to do in order to survive. This exploration plays out in the experiences and actions of virtually all the principal characters, but perhaps most notably in the experiences and actions of the play’s protagonist, Mama Nadi.

From the beginning, the play seems designed to portray Mama Nadi as doing, or being prepared to do, almost anything in order to not only stay alive, but to preserve what is most important to her: her business, which she indicates several times throughout the action is the one earthly possession she has managed to obtain and hold onto. In spite of several well-reasoned arguments against doing so, she maintains friendly relationships with individuals on both sides...