(Jacques Bessenger, Elize
Cawood, Kopano Maroga, Mpume Mthombeni
& Marvin-Lee Beukes)
This is a very fine production offering much food for
thought. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Multi-award winning writer, actor and director Neil Coppen’s
latest production Newfoundland (Buiteland)
appeared on this year’s National Arts Festival main programme. It was presented
by the NAF and NATI/Feesteforum in association with Kunste Onbeperk.
Newfoundland was
originally developed in conjunction with the Royal Court, the UK’s premiere
playwriting institute. Coppen was invited to London for a staged reading of his
work at the Theatre as part of the New Plays from South Africa after 20 Years
of Democracy Programme. The play was originally titled differently but pressed
by a deadline to confirm the title, he thought of choosing Newfoundland because
of its rugged nature as opposed to the lush vegetation of KwaZulu-Natal and the
fact that it could be considered a “new found land”.
The story deals with an Afrikaans anaesthetist (Jacques) based
in a Pietermaritzburg community hospital who is reliant on drugs to handle the
demons in his head. He looks at the process of anaesthetic from an academic
viewpoint. He meets a choreographer and student at UKZN (Sizwe) through a
dating app and this develops into a strong relationship between the two men.
Both are under pressure from their mothers to return to their cultural faiths
but they are fighting to move forward and the relationship gives them the
freedom they are searching for. The gradual build of their friendship and
Jacques’ unbending towards Sizwe is sensitively and skilfully handled.
Excellent performances come from Jacques Bessenger as Jacques
and Kopano Maroga as Sizwe. Legendary actress Elize Cawood brought her
commanding presence to the role of Jacques’ mother who is unaware that he is
gay. Marvin-Lee
Beukes gains sympathy in the part of Mitchell who gets Jacques’ drugs
for him on the quiet.
Good to see a Durban presence in actress Mpume Mthombeni who
plays Sizwe’s mother with strong emotion and dancer/choreographer Ntombi Gasa who
is an impressive Mercy and the ancestor. Gasa and Maroga jointly choreographed
the effective movement sections, particularly an extremely well-handled sex
scene.
There are flashbacks to experiences and nightmares in
Jacques’ life. I found it quite difficult to follow the scene placements and
time-frames but unfortunately I am not very conversant in isiZulu or Afrikaans and
this may be the reason.
Coppen’s writing is always highly proficient and his scripting
of the way the respective cultures influence the two main characters is impressive
.This is a very fine production offering much food for thought. – Caroline Smart
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