DIANE DE BEER reviews the latest Mike van Graan play
THE GOOD WHITE
DIRECTOR: Greg Homann
PLAYWRIGHT: Mike van Graan
CAST: Shonsani Masutha, Russel Savadier, Vusi Kunene and Renate Stuurman
SET DESIGNER: Patrick Curtis
LX DESIGNER: Themba Stewart
COSTUMES: Nadia Kruger
VENUE: Market Theatre
RUNNING TIME: Until June 1
Pictures: Ngoma Ka Mphahlele
Pair the title with the four characters on stage – Vusi Kunene (Black, pictured right), Russel Savadier (White), Renate Stuurman, (Coloured, pictured left) and Shonsani Masutha, (Black, centre front), — and, in the South African context, sparks will fly.
That is what Mike van Graan’s latest play leans into. He says in the programme notes that he hasn’t written anything but solo shows since 2018 and it feels as though this one has been bubbling under and then just exploded – in the best possible way. It’s an epic piece of writing which will have you gasping as he appeals to each one in the audience, whoever they are, to grapple with the issues – our inner core – of South Africa.
While Nelson Mandela did many things for this nation, coining the phrase Rainbow Nation was arguably not one of them. It is as though he constantly reminds us what we are not, but if you were part of the opening audience on what seemed to be a quiet Sunday afternoon in the theatre, you would have witnessed that we could be.
The perfect quartet: Vusi Kunene, Shonsani Masutha, Russel Savadier and Renate Stuurman.
The audience pretty much reflected the mixed bunch we are and from the deadly silence following the first poem of strength recited by the astonishing Masutha to the immediate participation during the rest of the play, it was as though there was another solo performer on that stage – the audience.
It captured the heartfelt emotions Van Graan has always been able to harness as he tackles the South African nation. And no one does gloves-off like this playwright. Setting the play in academia, he has chosen his boxing ring and then selected his characters to represent every foible in the human race, it felt like. And then he lets them rip.
As always, he doesn’t hold back, everyone and each weakness is held up for scrutiny and the constant audience gasping and finger clicks told you how he hit the mark throughout the play.
Through the years Van Graan has been honing his very own way of dealing with what he views as our fatal flaws and this time it feels as though he has unleashed it all in glorious colour.
It might sound like something you don’t want to hear or see but, because South Africans will all relate to everything, it’s like witnessing the full South African story from Once Upon A Time …Prejudices in all their pitiful hostility, power plays, colour bashing, gender gore, poor vs privilege and the list is endless. He plays all those cards to their fullest.
Those who know his work, also know that he can write and he has never been scared to speak his mind. He does it to the Department of Arts and Culture and he does it on stage. When he has a platform, he steps up and tells it like it is and believe me, he is one of the few who speaks his mind unabashedly whenever he can.
He has been maligned to the high heavens, but nothing has stopped him. And finally, to my mind, here is his magnus opus and it is flawless and delicious to witness. And when (not if) you go and see it, I hope you have the same audience we had; it added to the fun and spectacle of the drama.
Add the director and the cast to complete the perfect coming together. Homann allowed the Van Graan words to do the work, which was the best thing to do. It should be unfettered because you really have to engage and listen to get the full extent, which here you do.
The cast delivers magnificently. I didn’t know Masutha’s work but she made sure I would never forget her. What a performance! From start to finish she’s there with all her energy and might and that’s what her volatile character needs. Stuurman is an old favourite and to my mind, this is her best performance yet. Savadier and Kunene also fit the bill and, as seasoned actors, they never put a foot wrong.
It’s a play I will try to see again towards the end of the run, because there’s just too much to take in at one sitting. It’s something — even though it doesn’t sound like it — that gives hope. If, as Van Graan suggests, this is exactly who we are, at some stage togetherness will take hold. As for now, we are still that dysfunctional family who needs a stern word to set us on the right path – and this is it.
We want more Mike please!
De Beer Necessities 