Cutting to marrow of apartheid conscription
GIDEON Lombard is the young man responsible for creating rave reviews for his solo performance in Die Reuk van Appels.
The acclaimed 1993 debut novel by South African author Mark Behr was adapted for the stage by Johann Smith, and has won Lombard a Kanna Award for Best Actor at the KKNK. He was also nominated for Best Actor at the Aardklop Festival, in which Lara Bye was nominated as Best Director.
The play gives Lombard the challenging role of playing the 11-yearold Marnus in a tender and poignant coming-of-age story. Set during the height of the apartheid years between 1973 and 1974, Marnus is the son a traditional Afrikaner general. Lombard, 31, is fresh off the heels of Aardklop when we catch up in the Fugard foyer.
He says following the success of a national tour, he’s confident that he’s as prepared as possible for the Cape Town premiere at the Fugard Studio Theatre, which opened yesterday. And for those English speakers concerned it’s in Afrikaans, fear not, it has English surtitles.
Lombard is an articulate young man – the son of academics, he also speaks four languages from having lived abroad where his parents travelled extensively. He calls himself a true citizen of the world and attended school in, among others, Namibia where he was born, New York, California, New Jersey and Holland.
He eventually settled in Cape Town more than a decade ago. Lombard himself has several academic kudos under his belt, having studied music, philosophy and literature, and he took up theatre and film so as to put to best use his studious background.
He has that unique ability of being able to switch effortlessly from English to Afrikaans with nary an inflection and is the perfect vehicle for interpreting Behr’s sensitive coming-of-age novel.
Lombard says on the surface his performance displays, through rose-coloured spectacles, the everyday life in which the youngster grows up. It’s set in Simon’s Town, where Behr was stationed in his navy days, but it’s the subtext that shows how patriarchal life was in those days of army conscription and the pressure and the effects of apartheid.
“It presents the way the government brainwashed individuals and the impact they had on people’s psyches – in particular what men who had to serve in the army went through,” says Lombard.
He poses the question: “How was this being digested by a youngster like Marnus – who acts almost like a camera of the times?”
Lombard says that for an intense 90 minutes it’s just him and a chair on stage. “It’s an incredibly exposed way of acting. The text is so strong but Johann Smit and also Lara who directs, and I, adapted it for stage.”
He says that the play will resonate strongly with those who experienced the apartheid army and were involved in the border wars. “There was actually no systematic debriefing and for many the issues have been lying dormant for years.
“So it’s brought to the surface here in a visceral way. But that said, I never want to feel like a preacher. I just want to tell the story – so this performance comes with a big responsibility.”
When Lombard is not performing his role as Marnus, he’s busy most days performing as Stefan Gerber in the kykNET soap opera Suidooster.
“It’s really been a very good year for me, but when we have our year-end break, I am going to sleep for a month,” he laughs, adding: “As much energy as it gives, it also takes.”
Back to Die Reuk van Appels; he says he’s been exposed to many audiences. “One thing I’ve noticed is that while each audience is different and the play is quite controversial, I’ve never met with great resistance to
Impact of patriarchal life, brainwashing by the state and border wars on people’s psyches
it. It’s done with a gentle intention and prompts conversation.”
He smiles and his eyes light up again as he says: “It’s been a gift to present this challenging role. I have performed it almost 50 times and I am constantly fine-tuning and adding more nuances to it. Who was it that said ‘art just takes a little longer’?”
His final words are: “I am a very curious person and I want to make lekker stuff with lekker people.”
Die reuk van Appels will run at the Fugard Studio Theatre until November 11 – Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8pm, with a 4pm matinee performance on Saturdays.
Tickets for the previews and on Tuesdays cost R130; Wednesdays R155 and Thursdays to Saturdays R165.
Bookings through Computicket on 0861 915 8000, online at www. computicket.com or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet. Bookings can also be made at the Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554. There is a generous 15% discount for the Friends of the Fugard members.