March 7, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
IN A country like South Africa, where there are many cultures and religions, trying to find a truthful compromise in such diversity is a challenge that Full Circle, a Kobus Moolman production at the Market Theatre, tries to explore.
Set in rustic surroundings, the production exposes the underbelly of fundamentalism in a particular niche of South African society. It focuses on a strongly religious Afrikaner family of three whose jealously guarded bonds are shattered by the unexpected arrival of The Inspector.
All the members of the family have strange "hobbies". Meisie, played by Anriette van Rooyen, is blind and has visions. Ironically, she loves playing and carries around a pair of binoculars that she uses to "see" into the distance. Boetie, played by Cobus Venter, loves shooting at nothing and Oom, Meisie and Boetie's uncle, has strange business dealings with people at the other end of a two-way radio transmitter.
He is played by Michael Richard, while Samson Khumalo is The Inspector.
Meisie's visions resemble those of Nongqawuse, the Xhosa prophetess who in the mid-1800s persuaded her people to slaughter all their cattle and destroy their crops with the promise that the sun would rise in the west and the white settlers would disappear into the ocean.
The play grapples with a number of questions, such as exploring the interpretation behind Meisie's visions and the consequences they hold for the relationship between blacks and whites in South Africa. The answers may lie in the apologetic but enigmatic Inspector, who begins to ask some uncomfortably earnest questions about the family's day-to-day lives.
Dark secrets are uncovered, the intensity of which lead to the unravelling of the family. And Meisie, who is still plagued by her visions, is left to fend for herself.
The director, Charmaine Weir-Smith, says that after seeing Full Circle people will be inspired to embrace the old biblical adage, "Love thy neighbour", a philosophy that has proven very illusive.
"Our view of fundamentalism has shifted somewhat in the light of world catastrophes like 9/11, the Iraq war and the Jewish and Palestinian debate. And in South Africa, it seems to be alive and well and in some places even flourishing," she says.
An acclaimed stage actress, Weir-Smith has directed a number of plays that have won her accolades. In 2000 she directed and co-wrote Sic with Nick Boraine, which they were invited to perform in New York. In 2001 Weir-Smith won the Vita Award for Best Musical Production for Annie and directed Music and Mayhem, a one-man show for Ian von Memerty that is set to tour until 2007.
Full Circle received the Jury Award for Best Script at the 2004 Performing Arts Network of South Africa Festival of New Writing and has been selected by several critics as their pick of the festival so far for the 2006 National Arts Festival.
It is on at the Laager Theatre at the Market Theatre until 2 April on Tuesdays to Sundays. Performances start at 8.15 pm. The Sunday shows start at 3.15 pm.
For more information, contact the Market Theatre publicity department on 011 832 1641.
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