WIE’S BANG VIR VIRGINIA WOOLF? Directed by Christiaan Olwagen, with Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo, Wessel Pretorius and Greta Pietersen. At The Fugard Theatre, Monday to Friday at 7.30pm, and Saturday at 4pm, until August 8. STEYN DU TOIT reviews.
IT’S official. After brewing for decades, tonight’s the night an all-out war will finally break out in the home of George (Marius Weyers) and Martha (Sandra Prinsloo).
Two middle-aged alcoholics of distinction – her dad’s the rector of the university where George is, not coincidentally, also a mathematics professor – this husband and wife have nothing left to hurl at one another but the truth.
Armed with insults, insecurities and innocent bystanders, in the form of newlywed couple Nick (Wessel Pretorius) and Honey (Greta Pietersen), few plays invite the viewer to awkwardly entangle him or herself in the demolition of a relationship quite like Edward Albee’s 1962 classic, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Translated into Afrikaans by current US Woordfees festival manager Saartjie Botha ( Balbesit), there is, however, a layer of hope underneath all the deliberate cruelty too. Hard to see at first, the atonement becomes more visible when sweeping up the debris and dropped ice cubes left all over the theatre afterwards.
Directed by this year’s Standard Bank Young Artist (SBYA) for Theatre, Christiaan Olwagen, the production (presented with English subtitles) makes for the perfect introduction to the work of one of the country’s most gifted conceptual minds.
Alongside highly acclaimed adaptations of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, Alice Birch’s Many Moons and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in the mere five years he’s graduated from university, Wie’s Bang Vir Virginia Woolf? similarly bears testament to Olwagen’s ability to fundamentally relay a text’s intention to his cast members.
Having the likes of industry veterans Weyers and Prinsloo as leads no doubt helps in this instance too, and together the couple bring the kind of synergy to the stage that can only be achieved through a professional relationship spanning more than 30 years. It’s a real treat seeing them on stage together back so soon after last year’s heartfelt Vir Ewig en Altyd.
The George and Martha that Weyers and Prinsloo bring out under Olwagen’s direction are relentless in their subtle, yet gradual pushing of each other’s buttons. Watching them amp up the pressure until flashpoint makes for exciting, emotional, engaging, draining and epiphanous viewing all at once.
In short, the stuff great theatre is made of.
Held hostage in taking front-row seats to this marital massacre, Pretorius and Pietersen play their characters with commitment and relatability as well. We all know how uncomfortable it feels to be in the company of a bickering couple, and here, for successfully conveying the feeling of a situation 10 times worse, they each deserve one of George’s stiff whiskeys.
Apart from those mentioned so far, various other aspects of the production showcase elements of some of the industry’s most prominent figures.
The set design, for instance, was done by multiple Fleur du Cap and Naledi theatre award-winner Jaco Bouwer ( Balbesit, Samsa-masjien), while the lighting and costumes were handled by Wolf Britz ( Oorsee, Balbesit) and Birrie le Roux ( Orpheus in Africa) respectively.
Fresh from his own acclaimed recent appearance as the wickedly delightful Emcee in Cabaret, the action also plays out to a soundtrack created by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder.
Arriving at The Fugard for a limited season following sold-out runs at various arts festivals over the past two years – including KKNK, Aardklop, Free State Arts Festival and US Woordfees– in short, it doesn’t get much better than Wie’s Bang vir Virginia Woolf?
Not only will the play put you and your emotions through the ringer in the best possible way, but it will also do so before sending you off into the woods we call life all by yourself afterwards.
Which fantasies and/or delusions you choose to take along in order to protect yourself from the big bad wolf’s pounce is entirely up to you, but whatever road you end up choosing, make sure it ends with seeing this stellar play before Saturday.
l Tickets: R90 – R180. Book, Computicket, 0861 915 8000, www.computicket.com