Navigating life in a militarised country
‘Die Reuk van Appels’’ – one person’s personal journey through the politicised landscape of South Africa in the 70s – has returned to The Fugard Studio, writes
DON’T miss the opportunity to see Gideon Lombard, directed by Lara Bye, deliver a viscerally urgent performance in the multiple awardwinning play, Die Reuk van Appels, which is back at The Fugard Studio Theatre until November 3.
Die Reuk van Appels is a stage adaptation of Mark Behr’s 1993 semi-biographical debut novel of the same name (translated into English as The Smell of Apples). Behr tussled with the Afrikaner mentality in the late 1970s and early 1980s “and the brutal consequences of apartheid and militarisation of South African life”, and provided a heady discourse into institutionalised hate and repression.
Before seeing the stage adaptation, I wondered how one actor could convey the intensely conflicted protagonist, Marnus, who navigates his way through harrowing political and personal events. Lombard’s performance is brilliant: it is urgent, passionate and elegiac.
The Fugard Theatre presents the play with surtitles – captions projected on a screen above the stage – which allows English speakers to access the intricately layered dialogue. Lombard’s background is physical theatre and he activates the space with an intense energy, but the text is complex, so the surtitles are a fantastic aid.
I asked Lombard and Bye if changes had been made after the production’s extensive tour and to reflect on the huge accolades that the show has received. Since the production’s premiere last year at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK), it has received almost 20 awards and nominations.
The play resonated with three very different panels: the KKNK, Naledi and Fleur du Cape Theatre Awards. Lombard said: “It has been an extremely overwhelming year in terms of awards and particularly my relationship with accolades. I’ve never set out on a creative journey with the primary goal to win awards. You start small and curious, you try things, you keep what you think works and discard the rest, and try to better it in some small way every time you do it. If that approach can lead to awards as well, it’s wonderful …”
As for transporting words from the page to the stage, Lombard mused: “When we started this process, we wanted to make a good play, to interrogate every choice and see what would work and what wouldn’t, especially because it’s an adaptation from another medium. More than a year later, we can start reflecting on the effect the play has had on people and the conversations and responses it inspires and provokes.
“I have realised that the performance of this play comes with a very specific responsibility. It is set in the 1970s.
“I was only born in the mid1980s. Someone said to me after a performance in Grahamstown last year: ‘You are representing an entire generation of people and knocking on the door of suppressed piece of history.’ It scared me to think of myself in that position.
“What if I said or did the wrong thing? I then realised it was less about saying or doing, but more about listening. This play has been an incredible education for me.”
Regarding whether any significant changes had been added since the play’s debut, Bye mused: “Well, a play obviously evolves organically in tiny ways in performance over such a long period of time, but nothing structurally has been changed.
“We re-rehearse just to touch base with the story, the characters and the rhythms of the piece, not to change or update anything.”
■ Die Reuk van Appels plays from Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8pm, with a 3pm matinee performance on Saturdays. Tickets range from R130 to R165 and can be booked directly through the Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554 or online at www. thefugard.com