Writer: Athol Fugard
Director: Jake Murray
Initially it was a somewhat disconcerting experience coming in from the blizzard-like conditions of Darlington to the small, intimate space that is Hipp at Hullaballoo to see The Island, one of the most famous plays of the 20th Century and set on hot, sweaty Robben Island, South Africa.
A two-hander, this intentionally claustrophobic single setting play, produced by Elysium Theatre Company, runs for just one act of around 80 minutes. It provides a snapshot of what life must have been like in the notorious prison in the midst of apartheid. The only two characters in view are John and Winston, inmates at Robben Island. The daily grind of work and confinement is punctuated only by occasional sirens and the sadistic prison guard Hodoshe, whose disembodied voice barks single word orders at the incarcerated to do his bidding.
The production begins slowly, with the two men miming the actions of digging and tipping out rocks, slowly coming to the realisation that they are simply moving the same piles of rocks to each other’s positions all day long. A potentially moving or amusing scene, dependent on how it is played, this sat somewhere in the middle, with audiences unsure of whether to chuckle or shake their heads at the futility of the situation.
The real meat of the play comes in the interactions and conversations that John and Winston have. There are discussions of the day’s toil, reminiscences of how their three year stretch together began as well as preparation for an all important talent show, in which John and Winston are to stage their own retelling of Sophocles’s Antigone.
Ewen Cummins (John) and Daniel Poyser (Winston) have clearly worked hard to develop their authentic South African accents, and are an excellent pairing. They work well with the script for the most part, providing glimpses of life in one of the most difficult prisons of the era, but the production feels a little empty. This could be to do with the short space of time that is seemingly covered within the play itself, but it felt more to do with the depth of characters that were developed. More unscripted, silent ‘business’ around the cell may have added something, along with more of a feeling of friendship, the co-dependent relationship the two men have and a real sense of what they mean to each other. The final scene of the play goes some way toward this, making both a poignant and political statement, having the desired effect on the audience of provoking thought and reminding of times that should never be repeated.
Reviewed on 9th March 2023.
