(Gabriel Miya &
Jem Atkins)
Cracking good start for Musho! 2014 (Review by Keith Millar)
The 2014 Musho! Festival got off to a cracking good start last night
with a full house audience for a performance of eLimboland at the Catalina Theatre at Wilson’s Wharf.
It would be understandable if writer and director Gisele Turner felt a
little nervous as seemingly every Durban theatre luminary was present for the
festival opening. However, I think she acquitted herself rather capably with
her well-crafted and thought-provoking two-hander.
eLimboland is where two men,
one black and one white, find themselves after they have died. They have no
recollection of how they got there, who they are, or what is happening to them.
They have to work through all this information as well as their past histories
and common connections before they can move on to heaven. Or, possibly, the
other place.
The play is fairly topical and looks at many of the problems which are
prevalent in South Africa today, such as crime and violence and racial
disharmony. An alarming number of ways to be killed in this country are
discussed as the two men sift through the facts of their lives, looking for
answers.
It is not until they come to the realisation that the past can’t be
changed that they are able to move on together.
Gabriel Miya and Jem Atkins both put in fine performances in this
production. However, the main emotion they had to work with is one of
frustration at their circumstances. I think both would do well in roles
demanding a wider range of emotions.
eLimboland is a brand new
production and as such feels a little bit like a work in progress. At times it felt
more like a radio production than a stage work. Also the bare stage did not
have the ambiance of a misty and mysterious land of hereafter. While composer
Dick Hathorn’s strange and discordant saxophone notes, which were playing in
the background, certainly did help, I am sure that some sort of backdrop and
possibly the use of a smoke machine would have assisted to set the scene.
The amusing pre-recorded voice of a civil servant giving instructions to
the new arrivals in Limboland was unfortunately distorted and difficult to
hear. This is not the first time that I have experienced this problem at the
Catalina Theatre and they should consider paying some attention to their sound
system.
All in all, eLimboland is an
interesting and entertaining new piece of theatre. One hopes with a bit of
polish it will have a future life, and not itself end up in eLimboland.
The Musho! Festival is presented by PANSA with support from Twist
Theatre Development Projects, The KZN Department of Arts and Culture, The Daily
News, BASA and the Arts and Culture Trust. – Keith Millar
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