(Haunting Chills and Theatre
Frills. Review by Verne Rowin Munsamy)
The Settlers Monument in Makhanda is a landmark building
that draws travellers from all around the country to the outskirts of
Grahamstown. A large square structure that looks like it is hovering like a
spaceship over the forestry below it. Within it is housed several theatre
spaces, art galleries, and exhibition spaces. It is the heart of the festival.
One of the smaller venues, Dicks, is situated on the second floor. Here is
where I watched The Quiet, written by
my ex-student Thamsanqa Khumalo and Samkelele Sodlala; directed by Thamsanqa
Khumalo.
I'm always in awe and proud of ex-graduates who enter the
industry and continue to make provocative theatre. The Quiet, is written in the style of Horror Theatre, a genre that
you don't see too often performed in Durban, not counting musical theatre.
The set is quite deceiving and adds to the mystery of the show. We have hanging books, articles of missing persons on walls, a white cloth covering a chair and another on a table. At first glance, one would easily make the mistake that this was an emotional drama from the aesthetics on stage. This misleading trickery is further carried out by the acting.
The actress in this one-person show, Nolwazi Khanyile, is proficient in the role. I was quite impressed with her control on stage and her understanding of the emotions behind each monologue. The writing reveals two dramatic monologues that serve as tear jerkers that touch the heart-strings of the audience. She narrated the absence of parents in her life, an abandonment that many South Africans are familiar with. She narrated the story of an individual who is forced to put on a smile while emotionally bleeding on the inside. The dramatic monologues are diffused by light-hearted dance numbers that ease the tension that was aptly built by the direction and acting.
The final chapter is where the plot twist kicks in and the Horror genre is revealed. This was foreshadowed in the beginning when the young girl recounts the story of a house that eats people. I remember, as a child, watching a movie where a house on the mountain top would devour strangers as they slept. This theatre piece was a mixture of that movie, with elements of the exorcist. The third and final chapter was chilling and hauntingly beautiful. I loved this plot twist. It was so unexpected. It's not often that I am bamboozled with a storyline but this one I welcomed as I was so engrossed in the show. If I were to add anything, I would add a fourth chapter just to round off the storyline and keep up the suspense and fear, as is evident in all Horror movies of this kind. Well done to the team on an amazing exploration of this genre. - Dr Verne Rowin Munsamy