Red Herring marks return with poignant production

With updates to its home theater nearly complete, Red Herring Productions has returned with a luminous rendition of one of Athol Fugard’s most poignant plays.

In “The Road to Mecca,” which opened Friday at the newly renovated Franklinton Playhouse, the South African playwright writes with poetic wisdom about age, art, trust, pain and joy.

Director Michael Garrett Herring helps the top-notch Red Herring cast of three make even the quiet moments quiver with unspoken truths about life, loss and change.

The finely etched characters glow within the intimate arenastyle staging, which allows the two-act play to build naturally toward its emotional epiphanies.

Josie Merkle plays South African widow Miss Helen with depth, bringing out the fears and hopes of the aging artist, so near the end of her road.

Jordan Davis lends feisty personality and anxious compassion to her role as Elsa Barlow, a young schoolteacher who has driven far to support her old friend.

Verne Hendrick projects authority and concern as Marius, the small-town pastor who appears as a harbinger of unwanted change.

At the preview Thursday, the actors delivered Fugard’s rich dialogue with lovely accents and homespun grace.

Much more than “a good old South African story,” as one character mentions in another context, the 1984 drama has the power to spark universal sympathy for the anguished tradeoffs that more senior citizens are facing today — especially as they and their loved ones grapple with the prospect of traumatic uprooting into assisted living.

Herring’s attractive four-cornered scenic design and Stephanie Thompson’s warm lighting reflect the freespirited artistry that Helen has invested over many years into the living room, bedroom, and nooks and crannies of her beloved South African home.

The Franklinton Playhouse and Red Herring Productions are, indeed, back — raising expectations of more high-quality theater to come.