03/23/2010 09:22:30
Leon van Nierop: If you want to see indigenous theatre at its very best, do yourself a favour and get a ticket to this brilliant local production.
Athol Fugard's devastating three-hander takes place in the claustrophobic St George's Park tearoom in Port Elizabeth in the Fifties where two waiters and the son of the owner battle it out during a 90-minute Communion of the souls.
The upstart Harold (brilliantly played by Daniel Buckland) initially seems to blend into the conversation with deceptive ease, but seems to hide a deep resentment not only towards his parents, but also to the two workers and society which at this point in time seems too big for him to fully comprehend.
Where he starts off by chatting to them about familiar matters of the day, the conversations takes a turn for the vicious as he first belittles his bed-ridden, alcoholic father and then spats out his racial prejudice and arrogant teenage incompetence towards these two dignified men who are victims of the inhuman apartheid laws. In the process this seemingly liberal young man is exposed as the biggest bigot of them all whose words fly like bullets through the air and hit bull's eye with every turn.
Fugard's powerful words, lean narrative and forceful characterisation all blend perfectly in James Ncobo's elegant and stylish directing in which he uses the small stage and rather limited space to full effect. One feels locked up with these three men who battle it out in a war of words that leaves the audience devastated and in a state of shock. Ncobo perfectly succeeds in involving the audience fully by locking them up with these characters especially since the audience has the foreknowledge of a new millennium and its new challenges while looking back at the problems of the past.
The acting is of the highest standard with Pakamisa Zwedala and Nat Ramabulana balancing the youthful rage of a young man on the brink of self-destruction and the destructive effects of his actions on two innocent men.
This is, without a doubt, one of the major events in the theatre calendar and deserves to be seen.
Master Harold... And The Boys
With Pakamisa Zwedala, Daniel Buckland and Nat Ramabulana
Director: James Ngcobo
Venue: The Old Mutual Theatre on the Square until April 10
Where & how does one book?
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