(Louise
Saint-Claire, Bo Petersen & Michael Richard.
NAF2014.CUEPIX Niamh Walsh-Vorster)
The combined experience, talents and comedy
qualities of Michael Richard, Louise Saint-Clare and Bo Petersen make this production a must-see.
(Review by Caroline Smart)
If you didn’t catch Pieter Toerien’s
production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha
and Spike when it appeared on the Main Programme of the 2014 National Arts
Festival in Grahamstown, you have until Sunday (August 10) to catch it at the
Pieter Toerien Theatre at Montecasino in Johannesburg or else head for Cape
Town.
I saw it in Grahamstown and was fascinated
by it. Written by Christopher Durang it won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play.
The Toerien production is beautifully performed and designed but an element of
the play bothered me. It seemed as if the second half was written in a
different focus, time space or mood. This prompted me to catch the play again
when I was in Johannesburg last week.
My initial response still holds true but
the stellar trio that heads the cast have now moulded the two sections together.
Under Bobby Heaney’s direction and in the skilful hands of Michael Richard, Louise
Saint-Claire and Bo Petersen, the play flows on a much more even keel. What the
second half does offer are two superbly presented monologues from Richard and
Peterson.
The three main characters are brother and
sister Vanya (Richard), Masha (Saint-Clare) and their adopted sister Sonia (Petersen).
The names reflect the strong reference to Anton Chekov which runs throughout.
The play opens with Vanya and Sonia gazing
across at the lake hoping to see the blue heron. There is a strong bond between
them – although this can erupt into spectacular argument – which comes from
having spent most of their adult life caring for their ailing parents. All this
while, the glamorous and self-centred Masha has been carving a successful career
in the movies.
A perfectly normal day is turned chaotically
upside down by the arrival of Masha and her latest beau, Spike, an event
heralded with much drama by their housekeeper Cassandra. Thrown into the mix is
the winsome Nina who catches Spike’s eye.
Richard Gau makes the most of his role as a
slightly dof wannabe actor with a beautiful body and Emilie Owen provides the
right qualities of sweetness and astuteness as Nina. Kensiwe Tshabalala is
hilarious as Cassandra who resorts to voodoo in desperation to save the farmhouse
from being sold.
Jannie Swanepoel’s set is a masterpiece. It
features the porch of a beautiful farm house situated in Bucks County in
America. Greenery abounds with trees, pot plants and vines on trellises. A set
of comfortable rattan furniture gives an informal lived-in feel and there is
great attention to detail in stage props. Melissa van Eck’s costume
co-ordination is effective with the Snow White costume a delight!
Vanya
and Sonia and Masha and Spike runs at the Pieter
Toerien Theatre, Montecasino, Fourways in Johannesburg, until August 10. It
then transfers to Cape Town where it will run at the Theatre on the Bay from August
13 to September 6. – Caroline Smart
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