Insightful staging of ‘Park’
The real star of this production is designer Saul Radomsky
THE boundaries of race and property are overstepped in Bruce Norris’ uncomfortable comedy, Clybourne Park.
While all the characters might appear to be speaking English initially, it fast becomes clear they’re each communicating in a different language altogether.
Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this local staging is directed with insight and appetite by Karvellas (from productions such as Bad Jews, Champ). He is supported by a premium seven-member cast, who each auspiciously plays two different people 50 years apart from one another.
Set in the middle-class, all-white Chicago enclave of Clybourne Park, the viewer is introduced to the first batch of characters during 1959. After finding them in their living room we learn that, following a personal tragedy, Russ (Buckland) and Bev (Danford) are now packing up and selling their two-bedroom house.
What the couple don’t know, however, is that the place has been sold to a black family. Of course, this inevitably sends the rest of the neighbourhood into a panicked frenzy.
Bursting through their door to come spell out for them just how this will “undermine property values”, is residents’ association representative Karl (Pauling).
Also thrown in the mix is Karl’s Deaf, pregnant wife Betsy (Worby), as well as a local clergyman (Sparrow) who showed up earlier after Bev secretly invited him to come check in on her husband.
The final two characters making up the awkward, loaded and often very offensive conversations that are to follow are Bev’s black maid Francine (Seabe) and her husband, Albert (Jerrod).
Unlike the white characters, however, Norris’ script makes sure that they’re not there to help take part in the conversation.
Instead, Francine and Albert are left to pack and carry things, and to excruciating stand in the background while all the painful things are being said.
Unraveling all the plot’s kinks and specifics is part of the enjoyment. All I’ll therefore further reveal is that the second act takes place five decades later, and in the same sitting room.
There is also a buried trunk, a son’s letter, and the realisation that, the more the world appears to change, more often than not it simply got a new paint job and an additional story.
While perhaps on the surface all of this might sound heavy, thanks to its humorous presentation and gaps for the audience to take breath,
Clybourne Park never feels dry or overly serious.
In addition, Birrie le Roux’s costumes, Kieran Mcgregor’s lighting design, and Charl-Johan Lingenfelder’s sound design, help give the play a world-class look and feel.
The real star of this production, however, is designer Saul Radomsky.
A photo or a description cannot convey the feeling one gets when the curtains first lift to reveal his extraordinary set.
Very much one of the characters itself, the house ultimately becomes a symbol of a transitioning real estate market.
As soon as prices and lives there hit their bottom, you can bet that investors will soon sweep in to buy everything for nothing. The profiteering then continues through gentrification.
From the brown marks on the walls where portraits used to hang, to the way certain carpets are rolled or furniture stacked, every inch of the set speaks of careful consideration and professional experience.
And don’t get me started on Radomsky’s glorious choice of wallpaper!
Again, one can’t’ say too much about the second act. Be prepared, however, to be overwhelmed in a completely different, yet equally potent way.
All the house’s eras, scars and ghosts are now ready to be revealed.
The correct pacing against Radomsky’s backdrop is crucial to the success of this play.
It is here where Karvellas again shows himself to be a theatremaker whose name should actively be sought out by those interested in theatre of substance.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he is working with some of the all stars in the business.
In all seriousness, there really anything left to say about how excellent the likes of Buckland and Danford are?
The younger cast members also take confident charge of their respective roles. There are several dimensions to each performance required, because, in addition to the dialogue, each character also deals with his or her own personal demons.
In this regard Jerrod, Sparrow and Pauling all give solid, wellthought out and weighty performances.
Seabe (Siembamba), in particular, stands out. She absolutely radiates presence, even when her character is listening to others speak, or only visible through a window while working in the kitchen.
In what is perhaps the role(s) with the most potential to miss the mark, Worby doesn’t let slip. She also particularly comes into her own during the second act. Just how relevant is Clybourne
Park in a South African context? The answer to that question lies in any newspaper you open to read about a new development, or every time you drive through Cape Town suburbs to see real-life gentrification in action.
A highly recommended production.