Decadence, a tale of indulgence, sex and money, is brought to the Fringe this year by exciting, young theatre group The Mechanicals. Emily Child and Scott Sparrow are in the cast of Decadence and were both nominated for Fleur du Cap awards for their roles.
Founded in 2008, The Mechanicals have grown into a collective of 18 members who, frustrated by working in productions over which they had no control, were drawn to the autonomy of the company.
Sparrow said they are not against the system: ‘We try not to take ourselves too seriously— there’s no manifesto, we just want to work to a consistent high standard and put on really good work.”
‘We’re not theatre pricks,” said Child, ‘we ignore the bullshit and get the work done.”
The group is one of the only repertory groups in South Africa. A repertoire, or season, of performing encompasses four to five productions at a time, with each actor performing in multiple works.
‘The ball is always rolling,” said Sparrow.
Essentially The Mechanicals are fans of dynamic writing, said Child, and Steven Berkoff’s Decadence is an example of just that.
‘There’s a poetry to the text you can’t lose,” she adds.
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The plot revolves around two couples from different classes, both played by Child and Sparrow.
‘It resonates with societies divided by the haves and the have-nots, with the decadence of wealth and the decadence of danger,” said Sparrow.
‘The people in power hold those who aren’t to ransom, and those at the bottom f**cking struggle— whatever your position there’s a decadence,” he said.
‘The play is beautifully crafted by director Christopher Weare,” said Child.
Although the play does have an age restriction of 16, both Sparrow and Child emphasised that it is never inappropriate and is for young and old alike.
This piece is from Cue Online, a project of Rhodes University’s New Media Lab.