Review: Magnificent THE GRAVEYARD Confirms Philip Rademeyer as One South Africa's Greatest Contemporary Playwrights at NAF16

Who has not, upon reaching a certain age, imagined that they are turning into one of their parents? More and more frequently, I notice things that I remember my father doing when I was a child: the way I have to myself awake on the side of my bed on some mornings, how I run my bath, a dislike for dealing with chicken skins with my fingers. These are all inconsequential actions. What happens when your parents' legacy is one of violence, alcoholism and abuse? That question is at the heart of THE GRAVEYARD, Philip Rademeyer's magnificent new play for the Rust Co-Operative.

In THE GRAVEYARD, Tommy sits in the basement of the house where he grew up, which had was in their family as "the graveyard", a place that once housed many of their belongings. Sitting on an old couch, he drinks his way into memories of his mother, Elise, who was beaten for fifteen years by his father, and his sister, Emily, who left home when she was sixteen. As Tommy ponders the nature of his masculinity and his heredity, he also considers his relationship with Emma, a woman who has fallen pregnant with his child. As he gathers his recollections and reflections, a situation that will reunite mother and daughter and, subsequently, mother and son, begins to reveal itself - and the assemblage of all of these momentary fragments of a life that is spiralling out of control lead to a profoundly disturbing and compelling climax.

THE GRAVEYARD sees Rademeyer re-inventing Henrik Ibsen's GHOSTS. He pares down and reinvents the source material, which is perhaps more reminiscent now of the work of Ibsen's contemporary, August Strindberg. But that comparison rather undermines Rademeyer's achievement in THE GRAVEYARD, for it is this text that is a confirmation, if one were needed after THE VIEW and ASHES, that he is one of South Africa's greatest contemporary playwrights. The detail he pulls through every aspect of his writing is top-notch, whether he is delineating character, crafting dialogue, using motifs to reveal plot and point to theme, or finding ways to keep the audience engaged by challenging what many would consider being the norms of narrative theatre.

Rademeyer's direction of THE GRAVEYARD is also superb, both in his work with the actors and in his visualisation of what he had set down on the page. His meticulously designed set, defined by an inspired border of alcohol bottles that separates Tommy from his family for much of the play, contributes what is a fully realised production of the play.

The cast of THE GRAVEYARD gives a set of performances that are outstanding. As Tommy, Gideon Lombard delivers some of the best work of his career in a role that demands everything he has to give as an actor. Bo Petersen, matches him step for step as Elise, whether she appears on the sidelines offering commentary on Tommy's memories or when interacting with the other actors. She is a force to be reckoned with. Sarah Potter, playing two both Emily and Emma, crafts two characters that are distinguishable even without the visual cues provided by costume, hairstyle and staging. Her work as Emily sees her adopting a steely veneer that gives her the resilience to survive, while her reading of Emma is delicate, vulnerable and open. Lombard, Petersen and Potter is a company of actors that all push each other to be the best they can be; the feeling of ensemble that flows between them is almost tangibly manifest in the space.

THE GRAVEYARD has been the highlight of my 2016 National Arts Festival experience thus far. It is a challenging and complex theatre that should be on every festival-goers list of productions to see and is most deserving of the Standard Bank Ovation Award it received yesterday. Long may it play on stages, both locally and further ashore.

THE GRAVEYARD runs at Princess Alice Hall as part of the Cape Town Edge until 9 July at 14:30 daily. Tickets can be booked through the National Arts Festival website.

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