A SEASON IN THE CONGO Young Vic

Patrice Lumumba was elected Prime Minister of the newly independent Congo in June 1960. Seven months later he was dead, allegedly murdered by the Belgian government in collusion with the CIA. Aime Cesaire wrote his play in 1966. Joe Wright’s production is its belated British premiere. Wright, best known as a film director, uses song and movement to good effect and the quasi-documentary will interest those who enjoy political theatre and who have done some homework first. Diction is not always good. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s charisma as Lumumba holds the sprawling text together. The high spots of the evening are his oratory, notably when he is lambasting Belgian colonial rule and particularly in a fine speech describing the countries of Africa. There is good support from Joseph Mydell as the gentle President and by Daniel Kaluuya as Joseph Mobutu whose brutal dictatorship would last 32 years.