Lava (play)

Lava
Original languageEnglish
Written byBenedict Lombe
SubjectMigration
Premiere
Date9 July 2021 (2021-07-09)
PlaceBush Theatre
Directed byAnthony Simpson-Pike
Original run9 July  – 7 August 2021

Lava is a one-woman show by Congolese-British playwright Benedict Lombe, which premiered at the Bush Theatre, an Off-West End venue, in 2021.[1] The play follows a woman who explores her own life history and identity after being contacted by the British passport office.[2] For her work, Lombe won the 2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.[3][4]

Background and development

Benedict Lombe was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and later migrated to England, settling in Wigan from the age of 12.[5] Prior to Lava, she previously wrote the play Chaos by Design, which depicted the struggles of women from her birth country and was staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013.[6]

Lombe became member of Bush Theatre's Writers Group in 2019 and the following year, she was commissioned by the same theatre to write a monologue for its Protest Series, a response to the murder of George Floyd.[7] For this commission, she wrote and performed in the short film Do You Hear Us Now?, which was published on the theatre's website.[8] The short film fed into the development of Lava[7] and was also projected onto the stage's backdrop at one point during the play.[2][9]

In an interview ahead of the play's premiere in 2021, Lombe stated that the title of the play came from the image of a volcanic eruption, causing deaths and forced displacements:[10]

There is a volcano called Mount Nyiragongo in Congo – the country of my birth – in the city of Goma. It last erupted nearly twenty years ago – killing 250 people and displacing 120,000. As I write these words, reports are coming in that it just erupted again – on Saturday May 22 – sparking thousands to flee the city, with many reliving the trauma of twenty years ago. This is very real – it has uprooted so many lives and continues to do so. When I started to write the play, that image stuck with me, along with a question: this process, this destruction, this displacement – what else could it represent?

Plot

The play is a semi-autobiographical story about a woman who receives a letter from the British passport office asking why her South African passport doesn't have her first name listed. As she searches for answers herself, the show explores her upbringing in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the time of Mobutu Sese Seko's dictatorship and post-apartheid South Africa before moving to Ireland and England, as well as the legal and political challenges of immigration.[1][2] The protagonist remains nameless throughout the show, referred to only as "Her",[11] before being eventually revealed to be Benedict Lombe herself.[9]

Production history

Lava first premiered in 2021 Off-West End at the Bush Theatre in London, starring Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo and directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike. The production ran from 9 July to 7 August 2021, with it also being available for international streaming from 16 to 21 August in the same year.[1][12] The production received critical acclaim, with The Guardian giving the show four stars, praising Adékoluẹjo's performance as "luminous"[2] and The Times lauded it as "brilliant, blistering theatre."[11]

Lombe won the 2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for the play, receiving a cash prize of $25,000.[3][4] It was the first time that the prize was awarded to a debut play.[13]

Lava was also shortlisted for the 2021 Alfred Fagon Award[14] and in the same year nominated for three Black British Theatre Awards.[15][16] Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́ received an Offie nomination for her performance in the play the following year.[17]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2021 Black British Theatre Awards Best Production of a Play Nominated [15]
Best Director for a Play or Musical Anthony Simpson-Pike Nominated
Best Female Actor in a Play Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo Nominated
Alfred Fagon Award Benedict Lombe Shortlisted [14]
2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Won [3]
Offie Performance Piece Ronke Adékoluejo Nominated [17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lava". Bush Theatre. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wyver, Kate (15 July 2021). "Lava review – a captivating, continent-spanning one-woman show". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Lava". The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 Bahr, Sarah (11 April 2022). "Benedict Lombe Wins Blackburn Prize for 'Lava'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  5. ↑ Benjamin, JN (8 August 2024). "Playwright Benedict Lombe: 'I don't start with characters, I don't start with plot, I start with feeling'". www.ft.com. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Reader, Jane (1 August 2013). "Bournemouth Uni students highlight horrors of Congo at Fringe Festival". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 "In celebration of Benedict Lombe and the BWG". Bush Theatre. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "The Protest Series 2020: Black Lives Matter". Bush Theatre. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 Ainley, Oliver (15 July 2021). "Lava at the Bush Theatre – review". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Bush Theatre: Talking to "Lava" writer Benedict Lombe and #SheCAN partnership giveaway: women ONLY win 2 pairs of tickets". Alt Africa. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  11. 1 2 Marlowe, Sam (15 July 2021). "Lava review – a penetrating and witty monologue about race, roots and identity". The Times. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Bush Theatre announces the world premiere of Benedict Lombe's Lava". West End Best Friend. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Ndungidi, Patrick (19 April 2022). "Congolese Benedict Lombe made history as winner of the 2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize". African Shapers. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  14. 1 2 "2021 Award". Alfred Fagon Award. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  15. 1 2 Thomas, Angela. "Nominees for 2021 Black British Theatre Awards". musicaltheatrereview.com. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  16. ↑ "The 2021 Black British Theatre Awards Winners". Black British Theatre Awards. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  17. 1 2 Rabinowitz, Chloe (13 January 2022). "OffWestEnd Announces 86 Finalists For Its 'Offies' Awards 2022". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
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