The Mountaintop

The Mountaintop45 years after Dr Martin Luther King Jr declared ‘I’ve been to the Mountaintop’, Melbourne Theatre Company presents American playwright Katori Hall’s poetic envisioning of King’s last night on earth following this famous speech.

On 3 April 1968, Dr Martin Luther King Jr is staying in room 306 at the shabby Lorraine Motel in Memphis after delivering his famous and prophetic sermon. Exhausted, he calls for coffee.

When Camae, a sassy yet mysterious young woman arrives with his room service, Dr King is taken on a journey of his wildest dreams. As a ferocious storm brews outside, unsettling Dr King with every thunderous roar, Camae forces him to face his fears.

The Mountaintop is an imagined account of what took place the night before King’s assassination in Memphis. As a renowned civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr inspired people across America and represented a dream for a better country, where equality was the norm.

Although never able to finish his campaign, others carried on with his work ensuring his legacy endures to this day. 2013 also marks fifty years since King delivered his ‘I have a dream’ speech from the steps of Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial to a crowd of more than 250,000 civil rights supporters.

Katori Hall is a playwright and journalist from Memphis, Tennessee. The Mountaintop premiered in 2009 at Theatre 503 in London. By popular demand it moved to the West End and later gained Best New Play in the prestigious 2010 Olivier Awards.

In 2011 the play attracted critical acclaim on Broadway starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett. Hall’s other plays include Hurt Village which won the 2011 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Children of Killers, Hoodoo Love, The Hope Well, Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, Remembrance, and Our Lady of Kibeho.

Her journalism has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Guardian (UK).

Director: Alkinos Tsilimidos  Cast: Bert LaBonté and  Zahra Newman  Set & Costume Designer: Shaun Gurton  Lighting Designer: Matt Scott  Composer & Sound Designer: Tristan Meredith

The Mountaintop
Fairfax Studio – Arts Centre Melbourne, St. Kilda Road, Melbourne
Season: 1 November to 14 December 2013
Bookings: (03) 8688 0800 or online at: www.mtc.com.au

For more information, visit: www.mtc.com.au for details.

Image: courtesy of Melbourne Theatre Company