Diane de Beer
Dorothy Ann Gould is very clear about her choice of play for her debut directing gig Noise at The Market’s Barney Simon Theatre.
“I have always liked work that ruffles feathers,” says the actress and immediately her personal roles like Yaël Farber’s Molora or People are Living There pop into your head.
She first saw Noise by Alex Jones 20 years ago when she was in London and knew then this was something she could get stuck into.
Set in a poor area of Birmingham in the UK, she describes it as “searing, brutal, robust, muscular but cathartic”. Yet she needed to change the language and the place to this country and for that she turned to her good friend writer/director Mark Graham Wilson. The two of them got together, working and talking their way through the text until they were happy.
But they still didn’t know whether it would work for two young black actors cast in the roles. “We read it in our own voices,” she notes, “but we still had to test whether that which sat well in white mouths would work for the two young black actors.”
Her casting had nothing to do with race, though. The fact they have a black couple and a white antagonist is incidental. “I wanted the best three young actors for the job,” she says. She auditioned a large number, more than 100, before she decided on three young actors who have never played at the Market before – Rowlen von Gericke (a Free State University graduate), Thabo Rametsi (who plays the lead in the Kaleshi film to be released next year) and Nokuthula Ledwaba (who has many TV roles to her credit).
Noise is about the loss of a moral centre, the worrying disintegration of the nuclear family, how damaged you are and how that will impact your life and those around you, education and the difficulty of getting the best or any education, and the list goes on.
It’s disturbing, but at the same time there’s a beautiful tender line. Two youngsters of 17 and 18 years have married and moved to Joburg where they have found a flat in Ponti. She is pregnant, but they are hopeful about their life together and their new family. “When they find themselves at Ponti, they have found their little piece of peace,” says Gould. Then the music in the flat next door becomes overwhelming…
Working with actors comes naturally to Gould, who has been teaching since she was 18. “There are three things I tell them right at the beginning; If it doesn’t cost you, don’t bother; make a total gift, physically, spiritually, heart and soul; there’s no point in giving 60 percent.”
But at the same time, she is protective of her cast and wants a clean, uncluttered rehearsal room. She says she teaches in love rather than fear. That’s what has always worked for her as an actress, and what she believes will work for her actors.
“It’s about these youngsters finding their truth.” And listening to this seasoned actress talking about the work, I wonder whether the fledgling actors understand the gift they are about to receive.
In addition to Wilson, the rest of her team sparkles with experience with partner Michael Maxwell doing the lighting, Paul Riekert (from Battery Nege) creating a soundscape and Nadya Cohen the sets.
It’s an extraordinary group, but that’s who Gould is, she surrounds herself with the best. Working with Maxwell is just an added bonus. “I can talk to him about anything I want and I know it will be there.”
Returning to her thoughts on theatre, she says she loves work that illuminates the challenges of life. As actors, she believes they should tell stories that throw light on life’s problems and in that way, make space for change.
“It’s not about making statements,” she says, “but about dealing with what is out there.”
Noise, says Gould, is also about the loss of innocence and about growing up. For her, directing and telling stories is about finding the right buttons to release the potential in her actors and thus the story.
That’s why Noise should be explosive.
Performance times: Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8.15pm and Sundays at 3.15pm.