When Rhodes University drama graduate Lucy Hind left Grahamstown for England, she never would have dreamed that the move would give her the opportunity to work with her role model.
After one of David Toole’s performances at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester, Hind overcame her nerves to request her idol’s autograph. Four years later she was cast alongside the acclaimed actor and dancer in The Red Ladder.
They have toured with their collaborative production Extra-Ordinary throughout Europe and have finally brought it to the Festival this year.
Toole, who has no legs, has acted and danced in productions all over the world for various dance companies, and is performing in South Africa for the first time this week. He is impressed by the reception he and Hind have received and is amazed by the ‘warmth, community spirit and support” shown to them, not only by fellow artists but by audience members, too. As a dancer, Toole’s flair, finesse and agility are especially impressive considering his disability which forces him to use his arms as able-bodied dancers would use their legs.
Treading the boards on her old stomping ground makes Hind a little apprehensive. She is afraid of disappointing her friends and former colleagues, but having seen Hind gliding swiftly across stage, executing gracefully acrobatic moves, one doubts her cause for concern. She and Toole dance flamboyantly and elegantly as a pair, and their choreography is masterful.
Reality and fiction merge
Hind says that the show is ‘blunt about all the stuff that we are thinking but are often too afraid to say”. The plot of the production has significant autobiographical elements. Hind’s character is on the path to fame while Toole’s character continues to undermine her potential as a star. He calls her ‘average” and is consistently cruel to her. At times it is difficult to distinguish between script and genuine heat between the actors, which puts the audience in the awkward position of eavesdropping on a private conversation between a protégée and her mentor.
This piece is from Cue Online, a project of Rhodes University’s New Media Lab.