Director: Albert Maritz
Cast: Paul Ellers, Johan Botha, Sophia Hugo, Johan Malherbe, Hannetjie Smit, Ivan Zimmerman, Deon Lotz, Wilma Schoeman, Vilje Maritz, Martiens Maritz
Venue: Durbanville High School, until tomorrow
It is not often one gets an opportunity to see real Afrikaans theatre. And even less often does one get to see Afrikaans theatre of this calibre.
Faan se Trein won the award for the most popular production at the Klein Karoo Arts Festival earlier this year and it also won Paul Eilers the most prestigious award of all - best performance by an actor.
After one sees his majestic performance, one immediately understands why he would be the obvious choice. Faan is a difficult role. Among a seemingly "normal" cast of characters he has to maintain an aloofness, staying in a world that only he understands.
Then there are the climactic extremes in his behaviour, almost a bipolarity, that again test the mettle of the actor's ability.
Eilers is unflinching in capturing the depths of this multi-layered character.
But Faan Se Trein is built around much more than just a well-drawn character. Pieter Fourie's text has stood the test of time brilliantly with its focus on class distinctions - something very relevant in this day of haves and have-nots.
For amid the ostensible simplicity of the plot are the bulldozers in the background.
Faan's life with his father (a supreme performance by Johan Botha) is on the face of it a simple one - work, eat sleep. But beneath the surface is the real danger of what will happen to Faan when his father dies.
Will the people with whom he has lived all his life be empathetic enough to look after him? Or will they send him away to an institution?
The story has some most-sensitive and yet brutal elements to it, as the characters reveal themselves as being either with him or against him.
Then there are the questions around religion - what does the Bible say?
For Faan, life is lived from day to day and he says things as they come into his head. He may look like a grown man but his heart and soul are those of a young, innocent child. At times he displays immense insight because of his forthrightness, but it is this very candour that determines his fate.
Albert Maritz has done a superlative job of directing this wonderful production. He has injected just the right blend of depth, compassion and truthfulness into the characters to paint the ultimate picture that surrounds the heartbreak of Faan's existence. Yet, he has also left enough space for an audience to read comfortably between the lines of this superior text.
He has a stellar cast to work with - each of them fitting neatly into place to reveal picture-perfect moving images. This is highly recommended theatre.