Director: Marthinus Basson
Cast: Students of Stellenbosch University drama department
Venue: HB Thorn Theatre, Stellenbosch, until May 29, 2004
This must be one of the cutest productions I have seen this year.
Its beauty lies in its universality - the blending of parody and pathos and the clever staging by Marthinus Basson. It is like going to the circus under the pretext of taking the young ones - Brolloks en Bittergal is one of those well-rounded
children's theatre pieces that the adults can enjoy with the children.
Writer Denene Erasmus has taken great care to be as inclusive as possible with her text and it succeeds as accessible theatre. They have even found delightful ways to interact with the kids and the little snotneusies (snot noses), as the narrator (a beautifully voiced Wilma Schoeman) refers to the little ones, simply loved it.
They were so well behaved throughout the production - something that usually happens only when they are completely engrossed - and were ready to jump on to the stage themselves to rescue their heroes or to help kill the ogres.
The story is told by a ghost in a well-designed costume and tells of Brolloks and Bittergal, two mean, children-eating monsters. When we meet Brolloks (very credibly performed by Alwyn Kotze), he has already killed the parents of Skoonlief (Elsa de Bruyn), abducted her and made her live with him as his slave.
Pieter (Eben Genis) and his two children, Kosie (Jonathon Durant) and Rosie (Cherice Smith), move in as neighbours to Brolloks and Skoonlief and this is when the fun starts.
Will Brolloks eat the children or will they help Skoonlief escape from his claws (and sommer become their new mother)?
Then there is the parallel story of Bittergal (Gerwon Simon), the other monster, who we meet only in the second act, with lots of comedic scenes provided by Sophia Wessels as Neels and Yolandé Rabé as Deonie.
The set design is clever and colourful, as are the bright costumes. The lighting design is especially well suited to the pretty forest setting, which changes from its pretty state into an eery one in a flash.
And, of course, how can one not mention the loveliness of the Afrikaans language?
Brolloks en Bittergal is a story well told and well acted by a zealous cast of student dramatists who are very well directed to tackle this kind of theatre.