When a shack appears in the midst of the upper middle class neighbourhood of Stillwater, the residents of this enclave of suburban serenity are concerned. Will the appearance of these squatters depress property values or will their mere presence lower the tone of the community? How to deal with these interlopers raises questions about the values and the prejudices of the current dwellers in this bourgeois haven. What really are the ties that bind this community, and what are the compromises one should make to be part of it? Amy Jephta thoughtfully strips away the self-deceptions and hypocrisy of all of her characters forcing them, and the audience, to realise that community is a concept based on compromise and that by definition, it means that there are others who are outsiders. The bonds that bind people together are frail and the line between the assertion of identity and bigotry is not always as clear as we might like to pretend. As the manipulative and maladroit instigators of the eviction petition against the squatters, Kai Luke Brummer and Olivia Darnley put in wonderfully awkward performances as they try to assert their lack of prejudice while simultaneously using their black neighbours to lead the charge against the probably black squatters. Equally clumsy and hilarious in their attempt to come to grips with the new multi-racial reality are Robyn Rainsford and Scott Sparrow as the upwardly mobile young couple who are now house poor. While this quartet of characters is rather two-dimensional, it is the black occupants of Stillwater, Bonolo and Sihle, powerfully played by Mimî M Khayisa and Sifiso Mazibuko, who are the most complex of Jephta's creations. Their struggle to create authentic identities in this complex web of historical, racial and economic relationships is both fascinating and revealing. While set in South Africa, A Good House engages social and personal issues that have a global resonance. This is first-rate theatre that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Rated: ★★★★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Camilla Greenwell
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