(Above: Monsieur Argan (Emihle Mjila);
his brother Beralde (Fanele Nxumalo); Cleante (Mnqobi Bhengu); daughter
Angelique (Nomvelo Mbokazi) and the witty and manipulative servant Toinette
(Nomfundo Nxele. Pic by Val Adamson)
From the leads to the Cameo-like roles, the stereotypical characters were physically and vocally well-maintained. giving credibility to the themes of medical quackery, parental control, and financial greed, all very relevant in today’s times. (Review by Romi Schumann)
DUT 3rd Year Student Production - The Imaginary Invalid by Moliere.
One could wonder what relevance a 17th century satirical farce written to entertain King Louis XlV of France could have for us in Africa in the 21st century; but the third year Drama students from DUT, in their production of Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid, proved its worth.
A simple, open set with the main protagonist, Monsieur Argon, working out costs on his calculator convinced me that this was going to be a modern adaptation, then, through a clever switch, with a topical comment about loadshedding, we were transported back 350 years and the fun began.
By the time Moliere wrote his plays, the influence of the Italian Commedia dell'Arte was well established in France and the performers embraced their stock characters, and clearly took great delight in delivering the fancy, fast paced story-line. At times, the dialogue was a little too fast and a few lines were lost but the general grasp that the students achieved of the script and the comic, stylized mode of speaking was commendable
In her direction, Pamela Tancsik did not overload the students with unnecessary stage action but guided them to bring out the humour through a good understanding of the script and well-rounded, entertaining characters. That being said, there were some great bouts of physical comedy, too.
In act 2, Angelique and her love interest, Cléante, played by the handsome Mnqobi Bhengu, sing a duet composed by Tancsik and arranged and played by Prof David Smith. I would have been happy to have heard more of those lovely voices. Great favourites with the audience were Dr Diafoirus (Bongani Mazibuko) and his son Thomas. (Zuziwe Lunga) who were very committed to their over-the-top characters and displayed great ensemble work.
(Right: Scheming doctors: Dr Diafoirus (Bongani
Mazibuko); his son, Thomas (Zuziwe Lunga) and permanently poorly, Monsieur
Argan (Emihle Mjila) .Pic by Val Adamson)
In the role of Argon’s brother, Béralde, Fanele Nxumalo is the voice of reason and the one who voices Moliere’s feelings regarding doctors and the medical profession. He says of doctors, “Listen to their talk, they are the cleverest people in the world; see them at work, and they are the most ignorant” with an entertaining mixture of earthiness and camp.
From the leads to the Cameo-like roles, the stereotypical characters were physically and vocally well-maintained. giving credibility to the themes of medical quackery, parental control, and financial greed, all very relevant in today’s times. I agree with Tancsik that adjusting the play to the modern idiom would not have made Moliere’s message any clearer and it gave the student the experience of working in a genre that requires discipline and dedication, making them valuable future performers.
It was not just the performers, but a largely student audience who had their horizons broadened and I hope it was not just an opening night ‘rush’. The other performances are Tuesday (tonight) and Wednesday at 19h00 and on Thursday at 15h30. at the Courtyard Theatre at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
Tickets (R50 / R20) at the door.
Posts
