Post-Apartheid Thriller 'Groundswell' in N.E. Premiere at Lyric Stage

Groundswell                                           

By Ian Bruce

Directed by Daniel Gidron, Set Design by Jenna McFarland Lord, Costume Design by Seth Bodie, Lighting Design by Margo Caddell, Sound Design by Brendan Doyle, Production Stage Manager Maureen Lane, Assistant Stage Manager Amanda Ostrow

Featuring: Jason Bowen, Thami; Richard McElvain, Smith; Timothy John Smith, Johan

Performances through January 30 at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston                            Box Office 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com

America has struggled with the issue of race from the debate over slavery during the crafting of the U.S. Constitution, through the Civil War, Emancipation Proclamation, and the Civil Rights era, up until and since the election of Barack Obama as the first African American President of the United States. As individuals and as a nation, we have experiences and a rich history to learn from as we go forward, to inform our growth and development into a more perfect union. Equality under the law is the linchpin of our democratic society, even if that principle is sometimes a moving target. Contrast that with the political structure of Apartheid, the ruling practice in South Africa until 1994, which fomented segregationist policies to enable the white minority to maintain economic and political control over the black majority. Affirmative action programs and fresh racial divides are the new order of the day. 

Groundswell, having its New England premiere at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, is South African playwright Ian Bruce's representation of one slice of that new order. On a foggy winter day at a beach-front guesthouse in a small port town on the South African West Coast, three men play out the power struggle of the post-apartheid culture. Bringing with them their diverse baggage, hopes, and fears, each man frantically searches for his ticket to a better future; one in which he will have some advantage, some respect, some thing that he can claim as his own, that will allow him to be a man. Dignity is an elusive goal for these men who have been both oppressor and oppressed, but pursuing it is the one thing that keeps them each going on a personal quest for redemption.

With astounding performances from his cast, Director Daniel Gidron creates an intense, spell-binding scenario rife with anticipation, menace, and apprehension. At the same time as he lets the narrative unfold organically, he masterfully builds the tension to a peak where the audience thinks they know what must happen and collectively hold their breath awaiting the denouement. The interests of Bruce's three characters are at odds with each other and therein lies the conflict that makes the story compelling. How far will each man go to get what he's after? How far can each man be pushed before he says "no more?" Which is the stronger motivator, hope or despair?

Thami (Jason Bowen) is the gardener and caretaker of the guesthouse where he has been left in charge by the absentee owners. He is a respectful and responsible black man doing his best to support a wife and children living apart from him in poverty in a distant city. Johan (Timothy John Smith) is an alcoholic, ex-con former police officer who does odd jobs at the hotel and dives in search of diamonds on the ocean floor as he attempts to put his life back together. This ebony and ivory odd couple has been joined by circumstance, and together they hope to participate in a government-offered diamond mining scheme and make their fortune. Lacking the necessary money to buy a license, they conspire to pressure the hotel's lone guest Smith (Richard McElvain), a retired businessman, to back them financially. Matters are complicated by the divergent, deep-seated frustrations peculiar to each man, based on factors such as skin color, perceived wrongs suffered, greed, and entitlement, and the fact that none of them truly knows the state of mind, nor the heart and soul of the others.

McElvain gives a master class in underplaying and restraint. He uses small gestures such as tapping his fingers on a glass to display nervousness or stiffening his back to demonstrate fortitude, illustrating the practiced reserve of his character. Perfectly cast as Johan, Tim Smith has honed the craft of presenting a jittery, agitated exterior that just barely masks the internal volcano that may erupt at any moment. Despite his fearsome demeanor, he is capable of squeezing some sympathy from the audience for the bad hand he's been dealt. But it is Thami who evokes the greatest sympathy and respect for striving to remain his own man against so many influences and the credit goes to Bowen for maintaining that dignity. The playwright tells us that this man is driven by doing what is best for his family, but Bowen makes us believe it, especially when he puts his heart into Thami's final speech to Johan. Bowen also adopts the most genuine accent of the three actors, according to a couple of native South Africans in the audience at Sunday's press opening.

Groundswell runs ninety minutes without an intermission and, except for a few languid moments in the expository first scene, is tightly written and well-paced. The set features a terracotta floor dotted with nautical images and wicker furnishings to provide a beachy aspect. French doors upstage lead to a fog enshrouded patio. Additional ambience is created by continual background sounds of water lapping and buoys with clanging bells, effectively reminding us of the remote seashore setting. Time and place are integral to the story and the Lyric stable of design artists has succeeded in constructing the world that Bruce describes.

Although Bruce's play is a representation of South Africa in transition, its themes about oppression and political promises are universal. These men are not so different from many others seen on the stage. Two that come to mind are Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront - frustrated, downtrodden protagonists searching for their share of the prize and meeting disappointment head on. The point is that we know these men and their emotions, but Bruce brings the politics and plight of South Africa to the fore by placing them in that locale. He lights a fuse, and Gidron and the ensemble of Bowen, McElvain, and Smith run smartly with it to the explosive conclusion. The play will make you think; the actors will make you feel.  

Photo credit: The Lyric Stage Company of Boston (Richard McElvain, Timothy John Smith)

 

 

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