‘Irreverent and bizarre’ theatre
NOT too long ago, Marcel Meyer played the lead in the re-imagining of Hamlet. In fact, the play will go to the US for a tour in September.
He says: “Hamlet was brilliantly received in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. The production was a big success, both artistically and at the box-office, and we received an overwhelmingly positive response from audiences and critics alike.
“It is a testament to Shakespeare’s greatness that this play, written over 400 years ago, can speak so powerfully to South African audiences in 2017.”
In the meantime, he’s back on stage at the Vineyard Hotel, where he is in Two By Tenn. These Tennessee Williams plays are produced by Abrahamse & Meyer Productions. The first play is titled, A Perfect Analysis Given By A Parrot. And the second is The Remarkable Rooming-House of Mme LeMonde.
Unlike the traditional way of theatregoers seated in front of the stage, soaking up the unfolding entertainment, this time they are in the story.
Meyer says: “These are two wonderfully quirky short comic plays by Tennessee Williams. Although Tennessee Williams is most famous for his steamy, sexually-charged, southern, lyrical dramas, like A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, he had a wicked sense of humour and A Perfect Analysis Given By A Parrot and The Remarkable Rooming-House of Mme. Le Monde are excellent examples of Williams at his most irreverent and bizarre.”
“This Abrahamse & Meyer production of Parrot premièred in the US last September as part of Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival. The Huffington Post raved, calling the production “excellent” and “fantastically exciting”.
“The unique feature of this production is that Bessie and Flora are played by two outrageous lifesize puppets representing Dame Elizabeth Taylor (Bessie) and Joan Crawford (Flora), assisted by the vocal and puppeteering talents of the award-winning Dean Balie and myself.
“The Remarkable Rooming-House of Mme Le Monde is set in a rooftop garret above Mme, where a babyfaced Mint, unable to use his legs, swings from hooks attached to the ceiling. Mint is taunted by Le Monde, who withholds his meals and he’s abused on a regular basis by one of Madame’s many male spawn.
“Hall, an old school chum from Scrotum-on-Swansea, drops in for tea and shows no interest in Mint’s suffering. The play is filled with images that resonate from the work of Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet.
“Williams’s unique gallows-humour provokes laughter at dirty jokes and cruel pranks as he reworks familiar images from his earlier plays – a gentleman caller, a mother’s love – in this ruthlessly riotous comedy of appalling manners.”
This production marks the South African premiere and the first international production outside the US.
Expanding on both plays, he says, “In Parrot I manipulate and voice the Dame Elizabeth Taylor puppet who plays Bessie, while Dean manipulates the Joan Crawford puppet who plays Flora.
“Bessie and Flora are life-size puppets and are a wonderful mix of puppet and puppeteer. We use our one hand to manipulate the head and our other hand becomes the puppet’s hand. The puppets are also designed that the puppeteers’ legs become the puppets legs.
“Because the text is so wonderfully outrageous and over the top, it seemed the perfect play to stage with puppets… Flora and Bessie are larger-than-life characters and the puppets so beautifully bring this to life.
“In Mme Le Monde I play the Madame’s sadistic son, who abuses the Madame’s hapless tenant, Mint, beautifully played by Matthew Baldwin (who also played Ophelia in Hamlet), while Dean Balie is hysterically funny as Mint old school friend, Hall, who has dropped in for tea. The fabulous Lady Aria Grey makes a stunning and striking Madame Le Monde.”
For those wondering about this immersive theatre experience, Meyer explains: “We are transforming one of the suites in the hotel’s historic wing into an intimate performance space – where there is almost no divide between actors and audience – every nuance, detail and texture of the plays can be seen and experienced at much closer proximity than would be the case in a traditional theatre space…
“This year’s selection of plays, food and wine promise to transport audience to some of the most exciting and outlandish corners of Williams’s fertile imagination in one of the most exclusive and unique settings in the Mother City.”
Once again, Meyer’s skill-set extends to the costume designing.
He says: “For Parrot, Williams is quite detailed in his description of the sets and costumes – he described Bessie and Flora being dressed in black dresses, then bejewelled and accessorised in contrasting colours.
“To incorporate the bird theme of the play I have designed two outrageously, over-the-top coquefeather bolero jackets that the girls wear to give them an outlandish, bird-like quality.
“For Le Monde, I wanted to give the play a timeless look with hints of Victorian Penny-dreadful and Grand-Guignol inspired by the neo-romantic fashion of early 1980s made famous by avant-garde British fashion designers like Vivienne Westwood.”
Two by Tenn will première at the Vineyard Hotel, Colinton Road, Newlands on Saturday at 7pm, with performances also on July 21, 22, 29 and August 4, 5, 12, 18 and 19.
Because of the exclusive nature of this event, only a limited number of seats are available so booking is essential. To book email: hotelplays@vineyard.co.za.
Tickets cost R650 per person. Ticket price includes the threecourse wine-paired dinner and the two plays.