(Graham
Hopkins & Vanessa Cooke)
Graham Hopkins and Vanessa Cooke delight in
this clever play. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Having missed it in Grahamstown, I was
delighted to see that Vigil was on
the excellent line-up of this year’s Witness Hilton Arts Festival. And even
more delighted to see that my expectations of the production were more than
justified.
Under the direction of Christopher Weare, Graham
Hopkins and Vanessa Cooke handle Morris Panych’s award-winning and clever play
with skill, humour, tenderness and pragmatism.
The set by Julia Anastasopolous, who also
designed the costumes, gives you an idea of what is to come. Nearly everything
is off-balance and seemingly tied together with a light cord.
This could relate to the mind of Kemp, a
vague young man who rushes to his elderly aunt’s side after she writes to him
saying that she is dying. His one object being that he’s going to make darned
sure that he’s safely in her will.
However, he finds “Aunt Grace” in more
robust health than he would like but this doesn’t stop him churning on about
her funeral arrangements: what he’s going to wear, what he’s going to say and
how tearful he can allow himself to be with her eulogy. As she appears
bedbound, this even gives him the opportunity to measure her for her coffin!
Days pass and turn into weeks … months …
and aunt is still hanging in there much to Kemp’s intense frustration. The play
builds on a virtual one-sided conversation, leaving the audience to fill in the
blanks.
While the lion’s share – at least 95% - of
the dialogue is handled by Hopkins, Cooke has her own unspoken dialogue. A mere
raise of the eyebrow, open-mouthed alarm, a weary smile, hesitant movements and
looks of frustration speak volumes. This is a brilliant two-hander and hugely
entertaining, despite its poignant ending. – Caroline Smart
Posts
