MILNERTON Players are complimented on choosing award winning director Mari Mocke to direct Christiaan Johan Barnard’s Pa Maak Vir My ‘n Vlieër Pa, for the first Afrikaans play presented by them. Mocke’s bi-lingual drama background make her ideal to bring Pa... alive to all. Even to those with limited understanding of Afrikaans.
Known as Chris Barnard our author, along with other notable Afrikaans authors, belonged to Die Sestigers (The Sixty-ers). A literary group who, in the 1960’s sought to use Afrikaans literature to “speak out against apartheid.” Pa... is not a political play. It is Theatre of the Absurd genre.
Concerning three characters, there is Org (Hanno Fourie) a neurotic middle-aged man of 45, still living with his mother Ou Vrou (Ilse van Niekerk). Wheelchair bound Ou Vrou slips in and out of the past recalling her long ago pregnancy, attempted suicide and worrying about who it is that is coming to visit.
Die Jong Man (Anton Schäfer) presents as a sinister character who (seemingly) only wants a father figure in his life to “maak vir hom ‘n vlieër” — make a kite for him. The setting is Org and Ou Vrou’s rundown shared bedroom cum living quarters. Damp walls, cheap furniture, papers untidily stacked everywhere, old lampshades, battered suitcases indicate lack of money and Org’s slovenly attitude towards housekeeping. Surprisingly this doesn’t extend to his appearance. He is a tall bearded man simply, but neatly dressed.
The term Theatre of the Absurd grew from Samuel Becket’s 1953 play Waiting for Godot. It’s a writing style which often forgets settings “that bear an intrinsic realisation or the obvious relationships usually found in drama, or coherently develops situations.”
Although notes tell us Pa... is a psychological search for identities through finding someone to love and be loved by, the play’s conclusion left too many untied ends.
Similar to Waiting for Godot, Org is waiting for someone unknown. Agitated, he either peers out the window, smokes or paces. Being wheelchair-bound enhanced, rather than detracted, from van Niekerk’s admirable portrait of an Ou Vrou living in a twilight world. As she knits a black shawl and cuddles her imaginary baby, Org and she constantly talk at cross purposes, argue about who is coming, money, or Org’s memory difficulties. Constant repetition in both dialogue and Org’s lack of development of nervous energy extended Act 1 beyond concentration point.
Schäfer has appeared in several English productions, receiving well-deserved acknowledgement of his skills. Unfortunately his black wig made him look older than Barnard’s prescribed 20 years, but as Die Jong Man, Schäfer acted with chilling coldness.
That Mocke didn’t draw upon her wide experience to finely trim Barnard’s script, her expertise did give viewers an opportunity for analytical discussion. Perhaps that is where the strength of Pa Maak vir my ‘n Vlieër, Pa, lies.
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