Mustard Seed Theatre continues their season with playwright Athol Fugard's Playland, and the location of the play affords the company a chance to be very creative with the set design (Courtney Sanazaro). But, this is a dark, although it brightens just as the sun rises, tale of border wars and Apartheid, all wrapped up rather neatly in a pretty package by sterling performances and compelling direction.
A soldier, Gideon Le Roux (Charlie Barron), and a worker named Martin Zoeloe (Erik Kilpatrick), at the carnival known as Playland, meet one night as the New Year is beginning. Actually, they meet over and over, because Gideon is determined to get himself smashed and enjoy every acre of this moveable feast, and when he does he always manages to seek out Martin, a black South African who has little patience for Gideon's spouting. Somehow, over the course of this unique little play, the pair come to an understanding, both about the violence they've both committed in their lives, and with the difference in their skin color, and what that entails, being political in nature, begins to build a slow head of steam toward the abolishing of Apartheid.
Erik Kilpatrick and Charlie Barron do masterful work playing off of one another, and their accents, courtesy of dialect coach, and the voice of Barking Barney, Richard Lewis. Kilpatrick is a delight to watch, especially as he reacts to some of the vitriol that Charlie is prone to elucidating. But, Barron also portrays this soldier as having been deeply affected by the horrible things he's had to do during this time of civil war. He's out to have fun no matter what the cost, but he's also troubled by his own behavior.
Director Deanna Jent delivers compelling performances from both of these wonderful actors, and it's a pleasure to watch them interact for about an hour and forty-five minutes. Along with a knockout of a set, this piece is also very moodily lit by Bess Moynihan, and the costumes by Jane Sullivan, simply and neatly, capture both characters. Meg Brinkley is once again the propmeister, pulling out more authentic looking gear for this carnival setting.
Playland is a fascinating piece of drama that also amuses at times, and Mustard Seed Theatre taut and colorful production runs through February 12, 2012 at the Fontbonne University Fine Arts Theatre.
