A performance that will have you constantly looking for the teleprompter at the back, at those around you, and at yourself. Woolworths brilliantly forces its audience to partake in serious introspection throughout the 52-minute long, single-scene display of satirical genius.
Juliet Jenkin, director and producer, has created a continuous ridiculing of the South African white middle class in this play, where everything that could be made fun of, was made fun of.
An intense opening scene, where stomping and chanting occurred under a veil of darkness, captivated the entire audience from the get-go.
The lights came on to reveal a crew of 7 actors dressed in black and white pied attire, who kept a fast tempo of speaking in unison and moving throughout the production.
The chuckles conjured by the rampant teasing of stereotypical middle-class habits and actions arrived naturally with the viewers, until the play took a serious twist.
The laughing stopped and the play took aim at the contentious societal issues which are seemingly overlooked by many South Africans today.
The cast: Kaylee McIlroy, Alice de Beer, Johann Vermaak, Francesco Nassimbeni, Tazmé Pillay and Wynand Ferreira (minus Alicia McCormick) fresh after their performance, no longer in their black and white outfits. PHOTO: Mike Wright
“Who cleans her house, who raises her babies” was chanted by the 7 actors, while the crowd sat with ashen faces, feeling guilty as topics such as domestic workers, pseudo-charitable actions, and moral high ground development were touched on.
The play lurched between humour and discomfort in an incredible way, toiling with your conscience, inducing serious bouts of rubbernecking as heads swivelled around to see if personal amusement was in line with the general consensus at each particular moment.
“I love Rhinos so much”, “I grew a horn and go running in game reserves and hunt poachers with my face”, “because Mel Gibson fought for what he believed in”, and “OMG I admire you for going into the communities” were some of the lines delivered, garnering stifled giggles due to the amount of sarcasm that was laced into every word.
“I love irony” shout the actors. Ironic due to the play, Woolworths, being performed in the hall of Cloetesville High School, meters away from the dilapidated housing of the surrounding area.
A Woordfees banner adorned fence outside the venue with Cloetesville looking in, contrasting the theme of the play with the direct outside world. PHOTO: Mike Wright
To enjoy this play you cannot be one who is easily offended; you need to be able to laugh at yourself.
It is a truly remarkable small production with almost perfect choral timing and fast tempo.
Keep your eyes peeled for this production at next year’s Woordfees, where the group hopes to make it their third official year of performing Woolworths.
The seven characters, showing just one of the various stage positions that they formed to keep the play from being boring. PHOTO: Facebook.