Martha, Me and My Family – Unity Theatre
A lot of us dream of becoming rock stars, and Saphena Aziz, half Guyanese, half Indian, a wholly talented and original writer and performer, gets the chance to become a Vandella. That story is the hook but what reels you in is her family’s history, coupled with her ability to bring to life the different characters, from Martha, to her friends, to her redoubtable, valiant mother. At so many points, the audience was nodding in recognition, whether the volatility of family relationships or the fakeness of a telephone voice. As for history - we do not know the half of it: slavery may have been abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833 - it was simply replaced by the insidious practice of indenture. But we all dream of escape, making it to a better life. Yet for too many people, it ...