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Spark In The Dark
After a hugely successful run of his come-back show, The Moon Looks Delicious From Here (Winner of Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award at National Arts Festival 2024 and Jury’s Choice Award at Bitesize Festival in London), Aldo Brincat, reimagines his smash-hit comedy, Arney’s Amazing Rise as Masc.
In a brand new incarnation titled Masc, this story of the early 2000’s is re-imagined for today’s audiences. Arney’s Amazing Rise was originally directed by Helen Brent of the Kalk Bay Theatre, and played to sold-out houses at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown (now Makhanda) for 5 years in a row.
Written and performed by the multi-award winning, multi-disciplinary artist, Aldo Brincat, Masc is directed by the award-winning theatre maverick, Sophie Joans (ÎLE, Dog Rose). Masc is a comedy that celebrates love, sex, and gender, during a time of fascism in South Africa. It explores how masculinity has changed over recent history.
Aldo says, “The oppressive and fascist policies of apartheid infiltrated every aspect of society including how and who we were allowed to love. These days, it seems the world is headed in the same direction with rightwing fascist governments gaining ground across the world. I thought it time to revisit this work for a younger generation, both as a piece of protest, satire and as a reminder or warning of what we experienced back in those days”.
In Masc, Aldo uses a range of three-quarter theatre masks, and brings a slew of characters to life as he seeks to tell stories that could so easily belong to all of us – stories of love, forbidden pleasures, humiliationand heartbreak.
The story follows the coming of age of a young man, growing up in South Africa in the 80s - his views on love and sex are shaped by the nationalist government’s fascist education policies, and by those around him. But nothing can prepare him for the explosive power and euphoria of love at first sight. On stage, we meet this same young man decades later, as he confronts these influences, and how they shaped him to be the person he is today.
In a layered nod to the performative nature of sexual identity and gender, Aldo seamlessly transitions through an array of characters, usings the mediums of physical theatre, poor theatre and clown work; but it is his flawless use of theatre masks which elevates this production into a truly unique and unforgettable theatrical piece.
Aldo wanders through this razor sharp, 60-minute solo performance, with a light comedic touch; deftly dishing out generous scoops of hilarity; dollops of pathos, and lashings of irony along the way - leaving audiences deeply enchanted and hungry for more.
Masc, written and performed by Aldo Brincat, will be onstage at Theatre Arts on 12 February 2025. The production carries an age restriction of 13+. Tickets can be booked online at theatrearts.co.za/show/masc
