Since Africa was an amazing play that I recommend to everyone. It’s a very thoughtful play that speaks on the topics of love, heritage, religious views, and American and African culture.

The main character Ater is leaving his home village that is in the midst of war to come to America. To help adjust to the American way of life he’s been appointed to Diane as a volunteer counselor.  Diane is the widow of a solider. She has a daughter named Eve who questions her healing process after the death of her husband. As Diane does her best to flood all of her issues onto a shrink and flee her home for a small loft, Eve wants more than anything else to fulfill her father’s wishes of being buried under the family oak tree. As for Ater, he finds a lot of things about American culture odd, like talking to a doctor about all of your problems, gangs, and the overly processed food that makes him sick.

Besides the radiant weave of topics, I really appreciated the blend of African and American culture. Throughout the play there was an unknown character who was inspired by African culture. She interacted with everyone, yet was unnoticed by everyone except Ater. To me she represented the culture shared between all humans, being in touch with yourself, and inner pride. While Diane teaches Ater about living in Chicago, Ater teaches her about seeing the world through simple and open eyes. All in all the play was beautifully written with great actors. Audience members will surely be intrigued.