Idiosyncratic, dark and deliciously funny. (Review by Keith
Millar)
Tristan Jacobs, a previous Musho! Festival award winner has
brought an intriguing little production, entitled Actress and Girl to the festival this year.
It is a quirky, physical and rather comical work which is
made particularly notable by superb performances by the two actresses. They are
Maude Sandham as the Actress and Rachael Neary as the Girl. These two are also
given credit for having created the work, while inspired direction is by Simona
Mazza.
The actress is abandoned in the middle of the Karoo while on
her way to audition for the role of Desdemona in a production of Othello in Port Elizabeth. Penniless and
alone she hooks up with a strange homeless girl who lives at the side of a
dusty road. There they wait for cars to pass so that they can hitch a lift to
Port Elizabeth. The question is - do they really want to leave and abandon the outlandish
alternative reality they have created for themselves?
They seem to be totally reliant on each other and spend
their days following the same bizarre rituals. This includes acting out scenes
from Othello and performing routines
to the song All I Do Is Dream of You.
The actress is an absolute diva and lords it over the girl who has to be
co-star, stagehand, make-up girl, and dresser all at once.
Actress and Girl
is definitely something a little different. It is idiosyncratic, dark and
deliciously funny. Both Sandham and Neary put in stellar performances and
create three dimensional characters that one can’t help liking and disdaining at
the same time. They are full of energy and handle the physical aspects of the
production with aplomb.
The Musho! Festival has set an excellent standard this year
and Actress and Girl is right up
there with the best.
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