CORIOLANUS

(Pic: Sithandiwe Prudence Radebe as his wife Virgilia and Mzukisi Miti as Menenius Agrippa. Photograph by Val Adamson)

Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” – a 21st Century Leader? (Review of DUT production by Allen Auld)

Shakespeare’s play Coriolanus was recently (March 28– April 3, 2009) performed in The Courtyard Theatre of the Television, Drama and Production Studies Department at the Durban University of Technology.

This energetic and dynamic production was directed by Debbie Lutge – who has a penchant for adeptly directing epic scale theatre. Lutge’s most recent productions include: a lyrical presentation of Fay and Michael Kanin’s Rashomon and a unique and ground-breaking interpretation of Genbia Hyla’s reconstruction of four texts - with Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the core - a work entitled Hamlet Deconstructed. Additionally in 2007 Lutge’s concept and direction of The Parable of the Blind Men & the Elephant by John Godfrey Saxe, performed at the Durban City Hall, exhibited an elephant built from scrap air-conditioning units. The set was painted in luminous colours. The production combined rap, pantsula, patta-patta, classical music, and gumboot dancing, all under ultra violet lights for the 2007 Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace, commissioned by the Satyagraha Trustees under Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.

In this production of Coriolanus, Lutge achieves a muscular and volatile presentation, with particular relevance to South Africa’s present political situation. Picturesque and fast moving, this analogy is obvious in both the surface and subtextual narrative, and deftly illuminates the director’s vision. Written by Shakespeare between 1607 and 1608, the plot concerns Coriolanus, a Roman General, who in battle, defeats the Volscian army and in return requests a Consulship of Rome. The grateful citizens cannot refuse. As Consul he treats his fellow Romans with contempt and is consequently banished by them from Rome. He returns with the Volscian army and mounts an attack upon the city. His Mother Volumnia, his wife Virgilia, and Coriolanus’ time-honoured old friend, Menenius, plead with him to turn back.

Peace is brokered with the Romans and Coriolanus turns to the Volscian people. Due to his stubborn arrogance and contemptuous attitude to all around him - including the Volscian leader Aufidious - the action culminates in his assassination. His arrogance and an inability to communicate with those around him are seen as indifference. This combination results in his fall from grace, a situation, which many a modern statesman has experienced today.

In directing this production the director transferred the Courtyard stage into a multipurpose arena. A cast of 60 players, not only performed convincingly a multitude of characters, but also quietly and efficiently moved trucks and stage dressing into position as the play progressed from scene to scene. The challenge of directing a large cast, most of whom were on the stage throughout the performance, is to maintain credible characterization all of the time. Seldom on the Courtyard Stage has a large cast achieved this effect with such astonishing discipline. The focus of individual characterization was sharp and centred. The choreography of movement exhibited a fine example of ensemble playing – be it in the full scale battle scenes – where sparks flew in the swordfights or in the moments of stillness where the audience’s eye roamed from one tableau to another. This is a constantly absorbing work.

This production had two casts – and in so doing the director gave more of the young cast an opportunity to perform. The role of Coriolanus, played by Mthandazo Mofokeng and Menzi Mkwane, showed two contrasting performances. The latter, a second year student, portrayed the central character with ruthless determination. Although only in his second year, his stage presence is commanding and surging with adrenalin. He ably drove the production forward whenever he appeared on stage. The resonance and vocal clarity of his voice gave greater meaning to his interpretation of the text, suggesting an understanding of the psychology that drove Coriolanus to his self-centred actions resulting in his retraction of a promise. Thereafter the audience finds a fuller meaning initialized by his consequent defeat.

Mofokeng, a seasoned third year student, who was commanding as Judge Danford in last year’s production of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, played the protagonist with cold calculating clarity. Mofokeng’s Coriolanus is spoken quietly and deliberately. Mofokeng dominated each scene with a subtle understanding of how power is abused.

There are few women in the play but they play a pivotal role. Coriolanus’ proud mother, Volumnia, who spurs her son’s ambition, was played by Nolulamo Maquthu and Ayanda Sibisi. Maquthu was imperious in her demeanour, as she alone knew the motives that drove her son, Coriolanus, in his lust for personal power. She supported him by giving vent to her feelings in a strident vocal performance tinged with sly innuendo. Sibisi, an earth mother, was at a loss to understand why her words to her son fell on deaf ears. Sibisi is an actress of considerable emotional and vocal range with an excellent vocal timbre that many an actress would envy. Virgilia, Coriolanus’ wife, was played by Sithandiwe Pru Radebe and Chantal Ramathula. Each actor, in their own way, effectively portrayed the despair of a wife whose husband is self involved and more concerned with his own glorious gladiatorial achievements.

A moment of light relief - in a play overshadowed by sombreness – is evident in the performances of Sizwe Nzimande and Sazi Buthelezi. These two Roman “matrons” brought moments of light relief with their gossiping antics as they flounced around the stage giving the local people the news of the day. They provided brief moments of high comedy. By contrast Mandisa Tshiqi and Sanelisiwe Dlamini took their duties, of spreading the news to the townspeople, in a more vindictive style and like a mother who would admonish a rebellious child. Two women with individual agendas amidst the chaos, violence and destruction of a turbulent Rome!

Coriolanus meets his match in his conflict with Aufidious, played with calculating opportunity by Thabani Mbhele. Both Aufidious and Coriolanus are aware of their individual lust for power. Mbhele, a powerful actor, who gave a performance with sensitivity and determination as John Proctor in The Crucible, has his emotional and physical range stretched in a new direction. He succeeds admirably giving a commanding performance. Menenius, a wise old senator is played with pathos and humour by Mzukisi Miti. He is one of the few humane characters in the play, imbuing his performance with wit and charm and an understanding of the frailty of humanity. Miti is developing into a fine character actor. He is a disciplined performer with a sense of timing which makes him capable of playing both comedy and drama with ease.

Besides the playing of the character, Shakespeare makes additional demands on the actor. A necessary understanding of the text and the nuances acquired for spoken Shakespearean verse can prove a challenge for any actor. In most cases this student cast, whose first language is predominantly isiZulu, were successful. Diction was clear and voices audible. Actors today have a tendency to shout lines rather than speak them with an understanding of the character in relation to the spoken word, but here this was not the case.

The production was ably supported by an evocation of ancient Rome. Designed and built by Josef van Schalkwyk, the set was supported by Lutge’s costume design which undeniably suggested the battle dress of past South African freedom fighters. A quote from the director’s note describes the set and costumes as depicting: “… the grey Volscian stone against the red marble of Rome. The costuming exhibits a grey and indecisive Rome contrasted by the guerrilla camouflage of the Volscian troops. The set merges raw rusting branch frames and gates with the civility and sharp lines implied in the candles, columns, low walls and high rostra. The lighting rig is a rainbow canopy built from the basic colours purple and forest green, with broken mirrors behind the columns suggesting the prisms of reflection. The original music constructed and built from antiphonal phrases that echo and respond traditionally are positioned adjacent classical operatic selections in which the complexities haunt the moments of isolation consequently pointing up the difference, as well as the sameness.”

Sanelisiwe Khumalo, trained by the Drama Studies Voice Lecturer Madlen Tzankova, proved superb as a solo artist, particularly in her haunting solo from The Magic Flute.

Special mention must be made of the atmospheric lightning designed by Lutge and Duvendra Naidoo. Their lighting added an engaging realism to the ebb and flow, be it agitated crowd scenes or moments of high good humour, such as Menenius (Miti) and Cominius (Sabelo Ndlovu) – an actor to watch for the future - flirting with the “ladies of the night”.

The Courtyard Theatre has the reputation for presenting challenging work which other theatrical companies are too timid to produce. Coriolanus has not previously been produced in KwaZulu-Natal and is yet another first for the Courtyard Theatre. This production of spectacle and action runs for three hours and engages both actor and audience.

Relevance of the play to South Africa, in this time of electioneering, can best be summed up by the director herself: The work, thus, essentially concerns a political intrigue where civil strife breeds wars and assassination. This tragedy centres around the controversial protagonist, respectful of his mother, brave in the extreme, yet unable to express himself or “woo the people”. “Those in power”, should be reminded that they are “there” only by the grace of the electorate, fail them and you have failed the nations confidence and trust.

Congratulations to all in this phenomenal theatrical achievement. Carry on your good work, despite the indifference of the Durban theatregoing public. On the evenings I attended – both evenings - I noted the lack of support from senior management of the DUT.

Nothing succeeds like commitment and Coriolanus is an example of young players committed to inspired theatrical work. It is a pity that audiences do not acknowledge and support this internationally acknowledged director and her exemplary work. This laboratory is a showcase of groundbreaking theatrical endeavour. – Allen Auld