NAF DAY #8: JULY 7, 2012

artSMart Editor Caroline Smart reports from Grahamstown at the National Arts Festival

Last day of the festival for me, so it was a run-around of saying goodbye to special people, getting the car fuelled and sorting refreshments for the journey. Once again, a glorious day so thank you to the weather gods for being so generous.

I only had one show planned and this was Craig Higginson’s new play, Little Foot.

Wits professors Durban-born palaeoanthropologist Phillip Tobias, who died earlier this year, and Ron Clarke made the discovery in 1995 of a hominid fossil StW 573, nicknamed “Little Foot”, which they believe fell into one of the caves at Sterkfontein more than three million years ago.

Little Foot was commissioned by the National Theatre in London for the 2012 Connections Festival and Higginson was one of ten writers from around the world to participate in this prestigious event which takes place at the National Theatre prior to the 2012 Olympics. The National Theatre generously agreed to allow the Market Theatre, in association with the National Arts Festival, to produce an extended version of the original play at this year’s Festival.

Higginson’s play revolves around an ex-university student foursome who meet in the caves on New Year’s Eve as is their tradition. However, things become nasty as three of the four turn against Wizard (Dylan Nicol Horley) and old hurts and jealousies surface, becoming violent and vengeful. The rest of the group is played by Jenna Dunster, Khayelihle Dominque Gumede and Glen Biderman-Pam with Phumzile Sitole taking the role of the surprise member of the party.

The multi-award-winning creative team has impeccable credentials: writer Craig Higginson, director Malcolm Purkey, designer Neil Coppen and lighting designer Tina le Roux. Add to that, sound design by Tristan Horton, movement by Mongi Mtombeni and AV design by Vaughn Sadie.

With such a fine mix of talents, Little Foot creates high expectations but, unfortunately, these were not realised. While the set, lighting and design are superb, the overall visuals do not gel with the script which is edgy and filled with bitterness and rancour. In turn, the script comes close to trivialising the set.

On entering the Rhodes Theatre, you might think you’d walked onto the set of The Hobbit. The atmosphere is misty and the stage is filled with a rock formation surrounded by dense vegetation with fern imagery lending a gentler element. The rock moves as the play progresses, cleverly morphing into different shapes while the beings that live in it materialise with an eerie silence until you realise that they’ve been there all the time! This process is brilliantly conceived and very powerful.

Higginson has a rock-solid reputation, having produced excellent productions in collaboration with Purkey such as Dream of the Dog and The Girl in the Yellow Dress so something’s short-circuiting here. It’s almost as if the script and the set are talking different languages.

There needs to be a sense of logic in the denouement. Did Wizard die beyond redemption, the only person to support him being his girlfriend? Or did he gain insight to self-revival through Little Foot? If so, their encounter of no more than a few seconds didn’t indicate this. Perhaps more focus needs to be placed on this mysterious meeting? Whether changed or not for the London season, I sincerely wish the production well at the National Theatre. - Caroline Smart