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SCENE IT: Lady Macbeth meets King Lear with breathtaking eloquence in THE KILLING OF A UNION LEADER
- 15 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Beverley Brommert
Like many a dramatist worth his salt, Louis Viljoen succeeds in balancing thematic diversity with a distinctive style, so that while his work is as unique as his fingerprints, it is never predictable.
In this, his latest offering, he scales new heights of achievement by craftily conflating three Shakespearean tragedies and stamping them with his personal signature to create superlative theatre.
THE KILLING OF A UNION LEADER combines the poignant cruelty of King Lear and the ruthless ambition of Macbeth, in the context of an enmity as implacable as that of the great rival houses in Romeo and Juliet. Universal issues, made as topical and relevant as this morning's newscast in South Africa... a tour de force.
This is the stuff of tragedy with a vengeance, but the mood and delivery of the tale are restrained to eschew cheap melodrama.
It is this very restraint, captured in the statuesque bearing adopted by the actors together with Kieran McGregor's austere but highly evocative set, that enables the audience to concentrate on a script of breathtaking eloquence. The only obvious brutality is blatant lighting calculated to inflict physical, though thankfully intermittent, discomfort on the audience.
In the midst of an unedifying transfer of wealth and power from an ageing captain of industry to the next generation, bloodshed becomes the servant of greedy self-preservation: collateral damage is inevitable, and its consequences are heart-rending.
Not one of the four personae involved in this sorry drama is sympathetic, which conduces to an impartial view of the proceedings as capitalist, politician and trade unionist lock horns.
The four actors entrusted with portrayal of these villains are not only more than equal to their respective roles, but also responsive to skilful direction from the author, which makes for strong ensemble while impressing individually.
As Burke, the central figure of the tragedy, John Maytham is compelling and plausible in his steady, gradual metamorphosis from haughty autocrat to unhinged victim of his own misdeeds (Lady Macbeth meets King Lear as conscience trumps ambition).
Emma Kotze, as his self-possessed daughter Margot, is the epitome of callous disregard for anything other than fulfilling her own aspirations. Her clarity of diction delivers Viljoen's script with a cold elegance that perfectly mirrors her personality.
In the opposing camp is the trade unionist Gibson, convincingly impersonated by Sizwesandile Mnisi as a sort of latter-day Macbeth seduced by power to promote his advancement through the murder of a loved and respected leader.
Carl Beukes (the self-serving, ignoble politician) strikes exactly the right note in his role from the moment he addresses the audience in an articulate prologue, (another gesture to Shakespearean convention). Suave and sinister, he supplies an ominous background: 27 slaughtered strikers and growing hostility among their vengeful co-workers threatening capitalist prosperity...
The battle lines are drawn between "those who make" and "those who sell", with neither side giving an inch, not unlike the irremediable differences between the rival houses of Capulet and Montague. In the light of this information, the implications of the arresting set become clear. A palisade of stakes is ambivalent, both a prison and a defence against external aggression; its apex behind a throne is sternly emblematic of authority. Furthermore, these wooden poles from felled trees become a metaphor for the fallen dynastic family tree sacrificed to the next generation...
This is undoubtedly Viljoen's best work to date, not to be missed.
THE KILLING OF A UNION LEADER
Playwright and Director: Louis Viljoen
Cast: John Maytham, Emma Kotze, Sizwesandile Mnisi, Carl Beukes
Design: Kieran McGregor
Venue: Artscape Arena, until 30 May
Tickets: Webtickets
Age Restriction: No U18s