Hard hitting theatre from ‘The Swell’
Making independent theatre in Cape Town, South Africa is no joke. Not only are you sharing a very limited theatre audiences, there’s often far more limited funding amongst other factors.
This is what the four producers, Genna Gardini and Gary Hartley of Horses’ Heads Productions, and Shaun Acker and Zanne Solomon of Fruitzalad Productions have learnt while making The Swell.
Director Gary Hartley says: “The most challenging thing about staging a play is trying to get the cash to do so. It is my dream to pay all artists involved the amount that they deserve for their work, but it is simply not possible as an independent theatremaker,”
“Securing funding for a production continues to be a problem and it doesn’t help that the Minister of Arts and Culture has very specific ideas of what kind of art should and shouldn’t be made,” he adds.
Despite these ongoing chae.llenges, it is still inspiring to see companies like Horses Head and Fruitzalad banding together to create a new canon in the local theatrical landscape. The Swell does just this.
The synopsis reads: “It is the story of two unusual characters who meet under strange circumstances. Marie Walters, a recluse who identifies as a mermaid, makes a medical aid claim for the loss of her tail. The company’s Strange Claims officer Howard Fawls tracks down Marie to investigate whether her tail ever existed. It is during this encounter that questions of how bodies, both tangible and fantastical, are treated in contemporary South Africa are raised and interrogated.”
Usually with a premise like this, hilarity is bound to ensue and The Swell definitely has its moments of dark humour but the effective use of magic realism takes the context of the play to another realm, a deeper realm that is perhaps a lot harder to digest. The play explores the two worlds in which the characters exists, one is the real world and one is a perceived world. The two come crashing together like a strong tide revealing the most poignant realisation.
Grounded in the mythology of mermaids and fantastical sea creatures, The Swell explores ideas of loss and transformation in the most gripping and refreshing way. Stuck inside a blow-up pool with a giant goldfish attached to it, Zanne Solomon tackles Marie Walters and colours every line written by Gardini. Acker and Solomon are no strangers to the stage but seem to always be at their best when working together. This time around, the relationship presents a far more sinister edge that never quite lets the audience be at ease.
Hartley agrees: “Zanne Solomon and Shaun Acker are incredibly talented performers and a real joy to watch (and direct). There is a "talking heads" epidemic that plagues a lot of theatre, so watching them is very refreshing. And, of course, Genna’s script is beautiful, nuanced and powerful.”
The director has been multi-tasking to make sure his vision sees the light and the team of four have set quite a high precedent for young folks making independent theatre locally.
“It is important for people to support independent theatre. Independent theatremakers are often responsible for new innovative works that explore, and often introduce, new narratives. Also- we need the money. Producing a production with no funding or investors is a risky business, and often the risk does not pay off, so to speak,” he says.
Lets hope the creative risk has been well worth it for The Swell. The play has completed its preview run at Theatre Arts Admin and make its way down to Alexander Theatre in town next week from November 24 – 26 and December, 2-6, 2014 at the Alexander Bar Theatre Upstairs at 7pm every night. Tickets are R100. Monday is a press preview event.
For more info, visit http://alexanderbar.co.za/shows-upstairs
