Sophie (Condola Rashad, left) comforts Salima (Quincy Tyler Bernstine) in Ruined. Photo courtesy Joan Marcus.
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Sophie (Condola Rashad, left) comforts Salima (Quincy Tyler Bernstine) in Ruined. Photo courtesy Joan Marcus.
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Christian (Russell G. Jones, left) looks on as Mama Nadi (Portia) critiques "new recruit" Sophie (Condola Rashad) in Ruined at Intiman Theatre. Photo courtesy Chris Bennion.
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Christian (Russell G. Jones, left) looks on as Mama Nadi (Portia) critiques "new recruit" Sophie (Condola Rashad) in Ruined at Intiman Theatre. Photo courtesy Chris Bennion.
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No one throws a fit in Mama Nadi’s house. Portia, center, stars in Ruined at Intiman Theatre. Photo courtesy Chris Bennion.
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No one throws a fit in Mama Nadi’s house. Portia, center, stars in Ruined at Intiman Theatre. Photo courtesy Chris Bennion.
Early into Act I of Ruined at Intiman Theatre, young Congolese woman Salima—in her first night on the job at Mama Nadi’s brothel—is forced onto the lap of a rebel soldier, where she squirms with such discomfort it’s difficult to follow the dialogue upstage. You feel her pain acutely, squirming in your own seat though you know Mama Nadi’s is a sanctuary compared to what Salima…
