THE ISLAND Old Vic to 13 April.
London
THE ISLAND
by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshpna
Old Vic To 13 April 2002
Runs 1hr 35min No interval
TICKETS 020 7369 1722
Review Timothy Ramsden 23 January
Final chance to see a triumphantly theatrical denunciation of political oppression in the city that gave it birth nearly three decades ago.In 1973, when The Island first blazed on the scene at London's Royal Court Theatre, its setting, Robben Island, was still apartheid's prison-hell. And the play's impact, shared by the same team's Sizwe Bansi is Dead, wasn't only political. Before physical theatre had found its present-day vocabulary, these actor-based plays smashed vividly into the consciousness.
The opening, extended mime of hard labour, is stunning. Accompanied only by vocalised effort, two convicts shift piles of sand with a Beckett-like futility ordained by callous political power.
Kani and Ntshona's bodies stiffen achingly with the useless weight they bear. At their shift's end they are inspected like animals and made to trot, shackled together, back to their cells by an invisible power. Alone, their bodies slowly, painfully unbend from the torment they have endured. The two join in escapist fantasies, an imaginary cinema visit or 'phone call home - though here the temporary joy wears off as Kani is reminded of his family.
Their personalities emerge too, focused by a forthcoming prison concert. Kani, the artist, is devising a two-man Antigone and struggles against Ntshona's inability to understand the story, let alone the imagined reality theatre involves. There's burlesque too when Antigone, ancient Greek protester for humanity, emerges as Ntshona with false breasts and wig.
In these conditions small things cause major disputes, and details gain extra significance. Kani is told his sentence has been reduced - he will soon be free. After being given the news he is allowed to walk, not made to run, back to his cell.
It could still be one of apartheid's mean tricks. Yet, despite their resolution, hope sneaks into the cell along with the good news, bringing a new fantasy: the countdown of Kani's remaining days. But it also foretells the end of the men's relationship. Which is where the play's soul lies. The human spirit amazingly triumphs in their Antigone's fierce denunciations. That freedom, strongly contrasting Orwell's fear of totalitarian mind-domination, remains as the lights fade on these two characters – and two remarkable, courageous actors - again circling in their imaginary shackles.
Cast:
John Kani
Winston Ntshona
Director: Athol Fugard
Design: The company
Lighting: Mannie Manim
2002-01-24 18:14:35