Someone who would be an entertaining cellmate, James says the show is “deftly done drama.” They say, “no man is an island.” Maybe with The Island, Fugard should have been. Having indulged in fondue excess, Kani and Ntshona begin improv-ing two cellmates and Fugard types up their dialogue. I imagine a 1970’s evening at the Fugard home. The Island characters are named John and Winston. Tony Award winning actors, John Kani and Winston Ntshona are credited in the collaborative writing of this Fugard piece. Not quite a shipwreck, the script lacks compelling depth.
#WHEN WAS THE ISLAND BY ATHOL FUGARD PUBLISHED PLUS#
The set, plus a soundtrack of ocean waves rolling in and African tribal music (designed by Victoria Deiorio), continue to emphasize the African island location.įugard’s The Island is #2 in a three play series, Fugard Chicago 2010, celebrating the work of Athol Fugard.Although the story, acting, directing, and set position this to be a gripping powerful piece, The Island just floats. Tim Morrison has built a stage that is a cross between a boardwalk and a raft. Their forced “marriage” as cellmates is best illustrated in a choreographed chained together run.
It’s his expressive eyes and buff stature that make his drag version of Antigone an amusing vision. What better for a play within a play than acting within acting? Bolden rages in emotion with a fierce stare that I wouldn’t want to come up against in prison. Banks has a wonderful scene of make believe talking on the phone. It’s a two-man show with their relationship center stage. The juxtaposition between La Shawn Banks (John) and Kamal Angelo Bolden (Winston) working on the beach and chatting in their cell is a fascinating twist. It’s effective in silently emphasizing the lunacy of the correctional facility. The Island is the story of two castaways sentenced to friendship.ĭirector James Bohnen opens the show with an extended (a little too long) pantomime of the prisoners’ work assignment.
They decide to entertain fellow prisoners with a scene from Sophocles’ Antigone. Their crime is being black in South Africa during apartheid rule. Two men have been condemned to a maximum security prison on Robben Island. Not in Fugard’s world! Remy Bumppo presents The Island by playwright Athol Fugard, a play within a play about injustice. Running Time: Ninety minutes (no intermission)Īn extended stay on an island sounds wondrous in Chicago’s brutal winter. Written by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona
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