Peter Frost : On show in Cape Town
Despite all the prattle to the contrary, the ongoing debate about the evolution of theatre in South Africa still centres on the argument over which is preferable – a Eurocentric or ethnic approach. Many, like government, various NGOs and some arts bodies expect change, which means better representation on stage of South African issues and sensibilities.
Others, mainly the theatre-makers still holding the cards, argue the universality of much that is considered “highbrow” or “elitist”, and privately decry the de- intellectualisation of the theatre, especially of drama. Director Roy Sargeant is one of these people, and his Elephant Man is a play of very typical South African paradoxes.
It can absolutely be considered highbrow – it’s long, sometimes long-winded, it’s thought- provoking, it needs concentration, a keen ear and a masterful grasp of the English language. Its themes, however, are truly universal – tolerance, subjugation, who is master and who servant, all echo South African society and individual struggles.
It means then that we are really arguing about the method of telling, and here Sargeant and master-designer Brian Collins work hard to take the well-made-playness out of a very well-made play. For The Elephant Man is exquisitely staged, beautifully lit and given a number of clever touches that take the dreary three actness out of the production. In doing so, Sargeant lends it a light, contemporary air -no mean feat given that the play is 20 years old and prone to bouts of heavy psycho-waffle.
The piece itself stars Kevin “Egoli” Smith as John Merrick, the Victorian Elephant Man, saved from the fright-shows of fairground England by a surgeon (Andre Jacobs, excellent) who houses him in his prestigious London hospital. Bernard Pomerance’s play, however, is less about Merrick and his deformities – he had Proteus Syndrome – than the deformities of a grotesque English society riddled with hypocrisy, and the (invisible) deformities of those who buzz around Merrick’s candle.
Comparisons are odious, but Pomerance’s play is very similar to Peter Shaffer’s 1973 tour-de-force Equus, and you have to wonder. Both feature “wretched” individuals outside the norm, both are “helped” by professionals, both plays end in revelation for the doctor rather than the patient and a realisation that the laws they advocate and champion are bunkum, dangerous and ultimately the reason for the afflictions they try to cure.
Superficially, too, they are similar. Both feature nudity to mark the purity of the flesh over the coverings of society, both work best told in ritualistic manner – Equus in the round, The Elephant Man with Grecian chorus.
Shaffer’s play, however, succeeds where The Elephant Man battles – as sustained drama. Pomerance’s play is first a mind piece, and words rule the stage, even if it is a very pretty stage. Typical Sargeant, a man whose primary interest in theatre is exploring ideas and the mind (Arcadia) rather than the glitter and titter of bangs and whistles.
The Baxter is 21 this year and The Elephant Man is their lift-off production, which they hope will take them through to a new period of prosperity (they’re looking for R10 million right now). The choice of production clearly says they are serious about serious art, but the rest of their arsenal (kids shows, old age specials, community theatre, musicals) says they are prepared to cover all other bases too. Brave priorities, difficult too, and the best of luck to them.
The Elephant Man is running at the Baxter Theatre, Rosebank. Tel:685-7880