Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Fable from the time of the flood
Inthe
AT 25, Joanna Evans is a theatre-maker: a writer, director, designer and actor. She recently performed in Barney Simon’s Born in the RSA at the Baxter Theatre and her plays The Year of the Bicycle and Patchwork have won numerous awards.
Earlier this month, Patchwork (a production for babies) won Best International Show at the 2015 Iran International Theatre Festival for Children and Youth. Her play Four Small Gods which nabbed the Imbewu Trust’s 2014 SCrIBE Scriptwriting competition, opened last night at the Magnet Theatre. The cast includes Richard September, Amy Louise Wilson and Siya Sikawuti. It runs until November 10, at 7.30pm (except Sundays).
Four Small Gods is a comictragedy. Evans has rejigged the flood myth to interrogate relationships in the contemporary world and how we – humans and animals battle it out. In the play, the gods wrench out the last four survivors of the flood: Dog, Panther, Rhino and Human.
“The flood myth traditionally offers a chance of rebirth – drown the old and start afresh,” explains Evans. “I was interested in looking at that time in between – the period when the old order has been destroyed, and the new has not yet begun. The boat is an exciting, unpredictable space where everyone is thrown together and offered a shot at survival. I was interested in seeing whether the human in that space could rewrite her ways of thinking about and relating to other species. This piece is a challenge in seeing how far we can stretch our zoological imaginations and empathy. It’s a physically and emotionally challenging play. I was lucky to find this incredible ensemble cast who have big hearts, strong bodies and quick minds to pull off this piece.”
Design has been instrumental in evoking “a stylised world that is neither animal nor human”.
Evans said: “(Set designer) Francois Knoetze (set) and I came up with the design concept by wandering around the Woodstock drop-off and looking for materials that were fun to move on and felt ‘ boaty’. It’s come together in a visual world that is gritty, archetypal and very fun to play in. ( Sound designer) John Withers has a natural instinct for what kind of sound theatre needs for the audience to feel and believe the world. He’s working with choral patterns, double bass and glass instruments. to create this post-apocalyptic world of ocean and weather.”
● Tickets are R50- R90 at www.webtickets.co.za. Tickets on Mondays are two for the price of one.