August 23, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
ENTIRELY performed on a minuscule stage no bigger than a standard office desk, The Travellers, a play currently running at the Laager Theatre, upsets the apparent tranquillity of nuclear family life.
The "formidable" Frost family is headed by Myrtle Frost, the Grande Dame of the "Frost Theatricals" travelling players. Her little company consists of herself and her twin children, Irving and Iris.
Since their birth, the twins were shown to the public as supporting roles to Frost's mediocre acts which are based around the twins' amazing synchronicity and ethereal beauty. Eventually, this little compact party is shattered when, as the twins grow up, they realise that they have been living a life of illusions from the very beginning and all hell breaks loose.
Director Sylvaine Strike says the play was born from an initial vision of wanting to make a show on the smallest stage imaginable.
"The Travellers,I believe, captures theatre as we know it from our earliest memories - its magic, deep nostalgia and magnificent escapism. The miniature scale of this huge story may evoke memories of our first puppet show, but since its players are not marionettes but a human family, what once felt so delirious in its playfulness, now seems to translate as claustrophobic and unresolved."
"The Travellersis about acting, not acting, playing, obeying, escaping, needing, reality and fantasy," Strike says.
"Through the velvet curtain pierces a yearning for happiness, love, perfection … yet the very fibre of this little family's world are woven from a fantasy, and the truth that accompanies inevitable adulthood is often too heavy to bear.
"The Frost family will have its audience in hysterics as swiftly as they will gut them. This is not a journey you are likely to forget."
The Frost family.
Recently honoured with the Standard Bank Young Artist Award 2006 winner for drama, Strike has established herself as an actress, voice-over artist and director. She has had a diverse career in the mediums of theatre, television and film. Her theatre work includes the character of Felicite in her most recent production, Coupe, and Mrs Swart in the smash hit
Black and Blue, amongst others.
As theatre director, Strike directed and co-devised Baobabs Don't Grow Here which has been hailed locally and internationally. She was given the Fleur du Cap Best New Director Award for her direction of the play.
The Travellers was a hit on the Fringe at the 2005 National Arts Festival, after which it was invited to the Adelaide Fringe, Australia. It has also garnered interest for the Edinburgh and the Saint Lu Festival in Reunion Island.
The play stars Toni Morkel as Myrtle Frost, Danial Buckland as Irving and Shelley Meskin as Iris. It is on until 24 September at the Laager Theatre in the Market Theatre complex in Newtown.
For more information, contact the Market Theatre publicity department on 011 832 1641.
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