(Craig Morris. Pic by CuePix/Kate
Janse van Rensburg)
(Review from the Hilton Arts Festival from
Keith Millar)
Greig Coetzee’s
unique one man production, Johnny Boskak
Is Feeling Funny, was a smash hit when it first appeared on stage over 10
years ago. It went on to win a host of awards both locally and abroad for
Coetzee – both as a performer and as a playwright.
So it would take a
brave artist to restage such a production and attempt to match the standard set
by Coetzee.
Well, that is
exactly what the impressive Craig Morris has done. As an indication of the
success of his interpretation of the production is the fact that he managed to
win a coveted Gold Standard Bank
Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. One of only two
awarded this year.
This excellent production was a very welcome addition to the programme at
the recent Hilton Arts Festival.
The story of Johnny Boskak is told entirely in rhyming couplets – a sort
of fusion of colloquial South African language and rap style verse. It is
masterful and sustained writing by the gifted playwright.
Anti-hero Johnny is a working class South African white man who, having
fought in the border war during the apartheid era, is finding it difficult to
work out how he fits into the new democratic dispensation.
He sets out on a road trip which takes him from Durban via Escourt to
Secunda. There he meets Eve and together they travel the back roads of the
country chased by her ex-lover.in his truck.
Craig Morris, alone on a stage adorned only with a section of Armco
barrier, puts in a dazzling, very physical and intense performance as Johnny
Boskak.His articulate delivery of the rhyming narrative is faultless and
superbly timed.
The production is further enhanced by a soundtrack of the music of the
late Durban guitar wizard, Syd Kitchen. Direction of the production is by Roslyn
Wood-Morris.
Johnny Boskak is Feeling Funny is a dark, hard-hitting tragi-comedy with a brilliant script and a
noteworthy acting performance. Well worth seeing if the opportunity should
arise. - Keith Millar
Posts
