By James V. Ruocco
Bold, crisp, telling, alas, the plays of South African playwright Athol Fugard.
These works - "The Road to Mecca," "A Lesson from Aloes," "Master Harold...and the Boys," "Blood Knot," "Sizwe Banzi Is Dead," to name a few - profoundly display the playwright's influences, concerns, ideas, thoughts, arguments and political engagements, as both influential storyteller and dramatist. Fueled by naturalistic language, metaphor, social realism and linear plot execution - all meticulously detailing the struggles, prejudice and conflicts of life in South Africa and linked effectively to the hardships of apartheid and the resulting consequences - the resulting effect, in conclusion, is relevant, verbal, timely, appropriate and justified.
Effective communication, alighted by engaged conversation, analysis, negotiation and discourse bring out the underlying message of Fugard's hypnotic 1989 play "My Children! My Africa!" Set during the final years of the apartheid regime, a time when a white supremacist government ruled South Africa and imposed strict racial segregation of the population, the two-act drama shows how the apartheid system reserved wealth and power for white people by dividing and defining South African society and influence along a destructive, debilitating racial line that ruthlessly exploited and harmed the black majority of the nation.
At the center of Fugard's raw, edgy and personal work, which is set primarily in a South African classroom at Zolile High School, are three pivotal characters: Isabel Dyson, an outspoken, independent-minded, privileged white student from Cambdeboo Girl's High; Thami Mbikwana, a smart, educated black student from Brakwater at odds with the educational system's colonial curriculum; and Mr. M, a dedicated, idealistic, older black schoolteacher who believes he can help young black students develop personal and critical thinking skills under his direct, responsible tutelage.
Their energetic, conflicted, often hopeful relationship, mixed with Fugard's courageous, defined attempt to portray the wrongness of apartheid while lobbying for justice and equality, is the heart and soul of HartBeat Ensemble's fiery, urgent, mind-blowing revival of the playwright's vigorous, vividly evoked tale of conflict, battle, debate and entrenched racism.
It is complex and necessary.
It is resonant and respective.
It is solid and profound.
It is motivated and intelligent.
It is passionate and precise.
It is painful and truthful.
It is why people go to the theater.
It is also why they come back.
This production of "My Children! My Africa" not only packs an enormous punch, but it showcases HartBeat Ensemble's ongoing commitment to the continual power of live, important, meaningful theatre.
True to Fugard's unique vision, concept and richly documented perspective, director Melanie Dreyer brings great knowledge, insight and understanding to the playwright's work, using intimate, clever touches, strokes, interaction and moves to ignite his haunting, beguiling story and soundscape. Her strategy strikes hard and digs deep, reinforced by life-affirming action that teeters on a volatile knife's edge, creates a racial and social divide and lays credence on the important subject matter, floored by bouts of conscience, madness, hope, willpower and determination.
Directorially, she doesn't waste a moment. As "My Children! My Africa" casts its spell over both the audience and the onstage characters, she uses moment-to-moment, one-on-one immersion to build, develop and cement Fugard's complicated, absorbing, verbal narrative. Sometimes, there are three characters on stage at a time. Often, there are just two. There's also room for soliloquy when Fugard feels the urge to have his characters step forth, bare their souls individually and bask in the stellar, challenging verbiage of his creation, exposing and augmenting their feminist, post-colonial, radical or psychoanalytic points of view.
It's a process or staging technique, if you prefer, that Dreyer propels and instills with precise, convincing thought and accuracy of equal measure, position, mindset and enablement. Part of the beauty is Fugard's intellectual language. Part of the beauty is how it is shaped and delivered. Part of the beauty is its genuineness. With Dreyer pulling the strings, it all comes together seamlessly, flawlessly and intuitively.
"My Children! My Africa!" stars Godfrey L. Simmons Jr. as Mr. M, Brianna Joy Ford as Isabel Dyson and Jelani Pitcher as Thami Mbikwana. This trio of performers - all exceptional in their own right - share an eloquence of speech, line delivery, performance and execution that complements and adheres to Fugard's conceit, his political blueprint, his historical perspective and his inherent need to inform and educate.
As the play evolves, there is great chemistry here, measured with appropriate vigor, tension, humor and passion. Alternating between relevant, confrontational dialogue and very lengthy, perfectly positioned monologues, they deliver forceful messages and laments with shocking immediacy, reinforcement, command and acknowledgement.
One of Athol Fugard's best-made plays, "My Children! My Africa!" is a thought-provoking, full-blooded drama of tremendous power and conviction, orchestrated brilliantly under Melanie Dreyer's poetic, combative direction.
In the hands of three exceptional, hardworking, gifted actors, Fugard's dialogue and story are projected with real, raw intensity that shakes you up, hits hard, gets you thinking and keeps you completely on edge.
This is theatre.
Complex. Fierce. Determined. Impressive.
Successfully voiced, played and portrayed.
Completely unforgettable.
It is not to be missed.
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