The Man & his monster
Actors Iain Glen and Kim Engelbrecht break down their characters in local crime thriller Reyka and the strange connection Angus Speelman and Reyka Gama share.
Reyka
Season 1 Sundays M-Net (*101) 20:00
M-Net’s newest African crime drama original series Reyka had viewers on the edge of their seats when the first episode of the series recently aired. There was action, drama and suspense, but the one thing that keeps viewers spellbound is Reyka’s (Kim Engelbrecht, Marlize DeVoe from 2017-2018 in superhero series The Flash, 2014-now) strange relationship with her captor Angus Speelman (Iain Glen, Jorah Mormont in the fantasy series Game Of Thrones, 2011-2019).
Speelman abducted Reyka when she was 11 and over a period of more than four years, he gained her trust, manipulated her, became her father figure, and sexually assaulted her until she ran away when she was 16. He was caught and sentenced time behind bars.
Now as an adult, Reyka is an accomplished criminal profiler working with the police to catch the baddies, but
Speelman is still ever present in her life – even more now with his parole being considered. Iain and Kim explain the complicated relationship between Speelman and Reyka and why it’s difficult, especially for Reyka, to let go and move on with her life.
TWO STORYLINES
There are two storylines in Reyka: that of Reyka and Speelman, as well as the mission Reyka is on to catch the sugar cane serial killer. “Reyka will stop at nothing to close the case and solve the mystery. It consumes her. It is her diversion from her own life. However, she spent years being held captive by a psychopath (Speelman) who has a strange influence on her in solving her criminal investigations. The subject matter of this show is alarming, while Reyka’s past is disturbing. She speaks for the victim because she is a victim too,” says Kim.
THREE THEMES
Reyka the show has three themes, says Kim. “A procedural show about hunting a serial killer; a detective show; and a complex family drama of three generations of women – Reyka’s mom Elsa (Anna-Mart van der Merwe, Antoinette Swanepoel in the film Poppie Nongena, 2019), young Reyka (newcomer actress Gabrielle de Gama) and adult Reyka – trying to get along while negotiating Reyka’s past.”
“It is also a strange love story about the dysfunctional relationship Reyka has with Speelman, her abductor who kidnapped her when she was only 11 years old during South Africa’s first democratic election. A poignant moment in our country’s history that creates the context for our character’s narrative arc. Every move Reyka makes will affect the other parts of her life, work, family, love and you see that with each scene. And such is life,” says Kim of the path her character goes on.
BUT WHO IS ANGUS SPEELMAN?
Speelman is a dangerous man with the face and demeanour of a loving father and husband, but all is not as it seems. “He is obsessed with creating the perfect family,” explains Scottish actor Iain. And when he gets that perfect family, he will devote everything he has to protect it – but there always comes a time when he wants more, and that is where the horror seeps in. “It’s always fun to play the baddie,” says Iain. “But Speelman has a very specific and, I think, well-researched pathology that I found very interesting to try and personify.”
Reyka is one of Speelman’s victims, but there is clearly something different about her. In the first episode, viewers saw the strange dynamic between a now-adult Reyka and Speelman when he summoned her to prison where he has been locked up for over 22 years. “Speelman needs Reyka to help facilitate his release,” Iain explains. “And he will try every manipulative trick in the book to obtain her trust again.” The problem is that Reyka is susceptible to him, and if she allows him, he could be her downfall.
AND WHO IS REYKA GAMA?
“Many things make Reyka unique,” says Kim. “What first comes to mind about her is that she is in a constant state of paradox in each scene. She always does what is contrary to one’s expectations.” But once you get past the first episode, you will start figuring her out. “As a criminal profiler who studies human behaviour, she knows what red flag behaviour patterns are, yet with Speelman she chooses to ignore it despite her education and experience. She’s powerless to him. To me, it makes Reyka an interesting character. It makes her human and flawed,” adds Kim.
THE MARKS SPEELMAN LEFT
After Reyka’s abduction, she received psychiatric care and was diagnosed with complex PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) with obsessional defences. “Reyka is on anti-depressant medication and due to her PTSD, she suffers hypersexual behaviour, is prone to alcohol abuse and interpersonal distance,” explains Kim.
What complicates Reyka’s PTSD is her bond with her captor. She lost her father (offscreen) at the tender age of seven – he was tortured and killed by the Security Branch during apartheid. “Now she also suffers overwhelming guilt and confusion for loving her captor and then feeling betrayed by him. When Speelman captures her, he fills a fatherly void for Reyka despite her hate for her situation. Speelman’s job was to gain her trust and then silence and intimidate her, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, as it were,” adds Kim.
“Yet it’s this kind of sadness and dysfunction that make her highly alert and wholly competent and functional when she needs to be. She is fully aware of her PTSD diagnosis and well aware of her condition and the consequences of people such as herself. She is fighting hard not to be another statistic, but she, however, does find it increasingly difficult to function without being reminded of the indelible marks that Speelman has left on her past. At other times, she finds it virtually impossible to control her emotions and that could get in her way,” adds Kim.
ACTING WITH KIM
Iain says that he enjoyed the scenes in Reyka that were mainly with Kim. “She is a wonderful actress, and we spent a lot of time talking about the content of each scene as we tried to mine, access and then submerge as much of the subtext as possible for two damaged characters who have a long history,” says Iain.
“It’s a very particular thing when you are playing people who have known each other incredibly and intensely and intimately 25 years previously, but then you have this huge chasm of absence before they reconnect. Both characters try to understand where they stand with each other. Do their memories coincide or conflict?”
EXCITEMENT ALL AROUND
Iain says that he’s super excited for Reyka to air in SA and abroad. “All the elements were in place to make a fantastic TV show. Most importantly a stunning script from creator and writer Rohan Dixon. The show has a vast sweep and feels like a state of the nation piece for South Africa. I’m the least qualified to say that, as it’s not my homeland, but I have been lucky to work in South Africa many times over the years.”
Kim echo’s what Iain says: “I am excited to see the detective in each of us becoming activated to solve the mystery and excited to witness how the empath in all of us feels for Reyka and her struggle with life and how she’s fighting back to reclaim part of her that was stolen.”