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Read more about Lynn Nottage's award-winning play in Women and War, an article from our exclusive member magazine Prologue.

Synopsis:
Mama Nadi is trying to do the impossible: Make her thatched-roof bar in a small mining town in the strife-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo an oasis—a place where the brutality outside can cease for a few moments of civility and pleasure. She has a jukebox, a hot meal, cold drinks—and girls.

When Christian, a traveling salesman who provides her with necessities like soap and condoms, shows up with two more girls—Sophie and Salima—Mama Nadi is wary: She doesn’t need more mouths to feed. When she finds out that Sophie has been “ruined” by rape and is therefore unfit for prostitution, she angrily refuses her. But Christian argues, predicting that her business will explode with the rush to extract minerals. He also admits to a special reason for wanting Sophie there.

Sophie stays and makes herself useful by singing and doing the books. She, Salima and another girl, Josephine, start to meld into a family of sorts, sharing personal stories and using each other’s nail polish. Josephine hopes that a Lebanese businessman, Mr. Harari, will make good on his promises to set her up in the city.

Every time the door opens and men enter, there’s potentially trouble. Militia members, led by Jerome Kisembe, frequent Mama Nadi’s. At different times, Commander Osembenga’s government forces fill her bar. Her rules are the same for everyone: guns and bullets left at the door. Keep it light. During conversations in the bar, each side accuse the other of atrocities.

Sophie begins to steal from Mama Nadi to raise money to take her and Salima to safety, as well as to pay for an operation that will repair the damage to her insides. But nothing gets past Mama Nadi and she confronts Sophie. Only her explanation about the surgery keeps Mama Nadi from throwing her out into the streets.

Outside this little haven, the violence on both sides is becoming increasingly more horrific. Mr. Harari is ready to flee with an aid worker. Mama Nadi has a request for him and a large payment. But he must leave abruptly when his ride does, and their deal falls through.

Fortune, a soldier on the government side, shows up because he’s been told his wife, Salima, is there. Because he had previously shunned his raped wife, Mama Nadi lies and says she’s not there. She tells Salima that no good will come of her returning with her changed-his-ways husband. But he waits for several days outside in the rain and Salima wavers.

Mama Nadi’s decision to protect Salima brings upon them all the violence she’d been trying to avoid. But out of the devastation and tragedy, emerges one tiny green shoot of love.