(Zenzo Ngqobe & Presley Chweneyagae with Don Mosenye in the background. Pic by Val Adamson)
Fine
performances from four actors in a highly-energised production. (Review by
Caroline Smart)
Featuring
part of the Playhouse
Company's special November season to celebrate 20 Years of Democracy in South
Africa, Silent Voice offers a
powerful – and often brutal – tale of four gangsters who have just pulled off a
heist and are on the run with their booty.
The aim of this anniversary season is to
place emphasis on “high artistic quality, widespread acclaim in the performing
arts industry and relevance to the theme of the country's new democracy.”
Aubrey
Sekhabi's Silent
Voice looks at the mindset of criminals and the
psychology of crime in modern-day South Africa. Nominated for four Naledi Awards from its
seasons in Johannesburg and Cape Town, it comes straight from its success
at the 2014 Edinburgh Assembly Fringe Festival.
The cast
of this highly
energised production
features Presley Chweneyagae, Zenzo Ngqobe, Boitumelo “Chuck” Shisana and Don Mosenye. All four actors put in fine
performances, having honed their characters to perfection.
Chweneyagae
is the main protagonist. Happily quoting from the bible, he can just as happily
kill at will. His character is also the one that creates the most humour.
Ngqobe
is the calmer and more logical member of the group. However, he is frantically
driven by time as he is on parole and needs to be home by six.
Shisana
is the calmest of them all, stating that his aim is to see this job over safely
so that he can see his son again.
Mosenye
provides the brawn. Tall and solidly built, he also takes on the role of the
farmer in a clever guise.
Special
mention must be made of percussionist Motshepe Kgawane who provided perfect
moods for the various scenes.
Wilhelm
Disbergen’s lighting design is very powerful and his set design is highly
effective. The stage is strewn with tyres, metal cages, a metal drum and a tall
sign saying “Somewhere South”: This same sign becomes a shower to good
effect. The first ten minutes are in
darkness so we feel at one with the gangsters as they make their escape under
cover of the night. This escape involves much racing round the stage or running
on the spot either at full tilt or in slow motion.
Sekhabi's
script has a brutal element and there is strong language. However, there is an
equal amount of humour. There is also an eloquent scene where two characters
talk of their families.
Silent Voice runs in the Playhouse Loft until November
9. Booking is at Computicket. – Caroline Smart
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