[TMA] member. 2004 - to close for an estimated 18 to 24 months to undergo an essential overhaul costing £12.5 million. Re-opened Oct. 2006 with the new auditoria named in honour of two theatre women, designer Maria Bjornson and director Clare Venables who died in 2002 and 2003 respectively. The Maria seats 160 while the Clare seats 80.
In the dusty heat of a 1950s South African township, a young worker returns home to find his wife in bed with her lover. The lover escapes, leaving behind his suit. The only revenge the husband takes is to instruct his wife to treat the suit as an honoured guest. But how long can she endure this cruel and pitiless sentence? World-renowned directors Peter Brook and Marie-H?l?ne Estienne team up with a company of international actors, singers and musicians to recreate Can Themba's hauntingly beautiful fable. Part of World Stages London
After the hotly-debated Three Kingdoms and the much-maligned Babel, the latest production in the World Stages London Festival (strapline “world stories for a world city”) is Peter Brook’s reworking of his previously lauded production Le Costume.
Translated back into English, this adaptation of Can Themba’s dark allegorical short story is surprisingly light and breezy.
The simple narrative is straightforwardly told. Loving husband Philemon (William Nadylam) returns home one morning after a tip-off to discover his wife Matilda (Nonhlanhla Kheswa) in bed with another man. The lover flees, leaving behind a suit that Philemon uses to humiliate his wife and exact a strangely masochistic revenge.
The action, played out on a space chillingly framed by clothing rails, is studded with jazz standards and African spirituals that both serve to highlight Philemon’s singing talent and natural beauty and ramp up dramatic tension, especially in the climactic party scene where she is forced to serenade her guests and then dance with the suit(or).
Among those watching this cruel spectacle are several cajoled members of the audience, a touch that some will no doubt enjoy but I found distinctly uncomfortable. It's not the only questionable staging element - having the male cast members dress as women may get easy laughs but feels puerile in this context.
Nevertheless, there is much to enjoy - not least Kheswa’s sublime vocals - and Brook’s production (a collaboration with Marie-Hélène Estienne and Franck Krawczyk) makes up in charm what it lacks in substance.
Yet another whiney review from WOS do you guys actually like theatre?
I thought the production was suburb giving a perfect blend of humour and touching scenes. I highly recommend
- Reich
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