VOA常速英语2007-One Actor in Many Roles Examines Nigerian Oil Po

By Carolyn Weaver¹
New York
17 October 2007
 

In the last 15 years, a new kind of journalistic theater has emerged: plays based on interviews, with multiple characters, all performed by the playwright². At 27, Dan Hoyle is one of the youngest and, critics say, most promising³ of these journalist-playwright-actors. His latest play,“Tings Dey Happen," Nigerian pidgin for “Things are Happening,” has won rave⁴ reviews during runs in New York and San Francisco.

Dan Hoyle's third solo play, "Tings Dey Happen," is based on his year in Nigeria studying oil politics. It is on stage at New York’s Culture Project, with Hoyle playing each of the more than 15 characters.

"We have everyone from the boys in Escravos,” he said, referring to an area in the Niger Delta⁵, “the guys that really speak the pidgin English. And then you have the diplomats⁶: 'Hi, Dan, yes, uh-uh…' You have the oil workers in the bars: 'Hey, Dan, oh yeah, I've been kidnapped plenty of times.' And we bring all these people to life in front of audiences, and let them decide what is really happening."

One of the lead characters is a community relation’s officer in a village in the Delta: "You know, when I was a young man like you, Nigeria was a big place,” the character says. “We were oil-rich Nigeria, everybody was drinking champagne⁷ and eating rice, and I'm thinking, at last the black man will be rich. But then oil price falls, and we clear away the bottles and have to drink dirty water again."

"These are characters that aren't easy to classify as good or bad. They're very conflicted,” Hoyle says. “I think that's the reality in most of the world. I think in the U.S. we kind of have the privilege to have absolutes, but I think in a lot of the world, your cousin is a militant⁸, and your uncle is in the government and so you're kind of a mix of these things. And everyday there's a negotiation⁹ that happens, what choices you make."

A young mercenary sniper in the play throws away his guns, but later takes up arms again. "See, my dream is to go to university, so I need the money,” he says. “This is the Niger Delta, okay? Sometimes you have to kill some people to have your own dreams."

Hoyle's other characters include a prominent warlord, an American ambassador, and an adviser¹⁰ to an oil company.

"Look, Dan, I'm former military,” the latter man introduces himself. “Now I'm working for Exxon, security adviser. I got ex-military buddies¹¹ getting hired for oil companies all over. You know why? We're not just pumping oil, Dan. We're managing war. Because nobody wants to piss off the Nigerian government, [expletive], we need their oil too bad. Oil companies making too much money. You wouldn't know it from Bob's suit here. Buy a suit, Bob."

The warlord also comes across as human, and even humorous. “Warlord is very busy job, I don't recommend it,” he says in a mimed¹² phone conversation. “No, he doesn't know Arnold Schwarzenegger, he's not a big actor,’” he says, referring to Hoyle. “‘His face? Bah!’ Everyone thinks you're such a big man, eh. They haven't seen you yet. You say we are stealing oil! My dear, how can we steal oil which belongs to us? Anyone who threatens the free flow of the blood money of our people -- you call me a terrorist? That I work for al-Qaida, eh? Sooner or later we will repossess the resources, whether they like it or not! Tell that to your ambassador!"

The lights change, and Hoyle shifts into the character of the American ambassador: "Hi, Dan, you don't need to call me Mr. Ambassador, that's quite all right. Please, have a seat. Cheryl, can you take some notes?"

The playwright sees international oil companies as a “proxy for a larger battle between government and citizens in Nigeria. I think what most people have decided¹³ is that they really have no recourse with their government,” Hoyle says. “They try to petition their government, nothing happens. They try to protest their government, they might get hurt. And unlike when they protest against an oil company, there's no Western media attention that that attracts. So, I think people are very savvy¹⁴, and they've realized the way to get attention is by engaging with the oil companies."

“See what is really happening. Maybe you are scared to see, but you must try," the community relations officer urges Hoyle towards the end of the play. Hoyle says he hopes to return to Nigeria to perform the play, which he developed with director Charlie Varon. "Tings Dey Happen" had an earlier run in San Francisco, where writer-actor Dan Hoyle is based. His next play will probably be about small-town America, he says.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

8 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

9 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

12 mimed   

v.指手画脚地表演，用哑剧的形式表演( mime的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The acting students mimed eating an apple. 这些学生正在用哑剧形式表演吃苹果。 来自互联网

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？