Inevitably there are many priceless anecdotes that had to be left out of this play, and its dramatic transformation is not perfect. But it captures the spirit of the original faithfully, and will one hopes bring more readers to a book that is now well on its way to becoming a modern classic. Humour like this, formed in the face of adversity, is a form of grace that generously helps to make life more bearable for everyone else.
It is difficult to remember a recent production of a drama where the design elements played so profoundly important a role in the understanding of the production that it is almost as if set, lighting and sound are themselves characters in the narrative. Subtle often, sometimes erupting in violence or dissonance, Erin Witton’s soundscape allows Jack Weir’s shadows to waltz in Nancy Surman’s barbed-wire hell. The fusion of these elements gives the entire production an operatic/balletic feel which eminently suits Fugard’s flowery imagery and the grandiose aspects of the writing.
