Woordfees: Kinnes

Hierdie stuk bied ’n boeiende kontemporêre blik op die realiteite van die lewe op die Kaapse Vlakte. Dit is volgende te sien by die KKNK. Kaartjies is beskikbaar by Computicket.

Five residents of the same Cape Town neighbourhood address the audience in this exciting debut written by Chase Rhys and directed by Hennie van Greunen. The play consists of a number of closely intertwined narratives set on the Cape Flats, and, with its accomplished performances and excellent lighting design, deals with those stories in a very moving way.

Anwaar is clearly a ticking time bomb, and Dustin Beck delivers an electrifying performance in this role. His unmistakeable confidence in terms of the rhythm of the writing helps make his character believable from the very beginning, and watching this character develop throughout the play is quite an experience. (Beck’s impression of a young Dutch woman is also something to marvel at.)

Van Rooi is on fine form as Anwaar’s tough-as-nails mother, Mary. Mary exhibits a degree of denial that has to be seen to be believed, and Van Rooi hits those nuances perfectly, especially in scenes that involve a diatribe on her character’s ‘nosey’ neighbours.

Lindsey Abrahams and Dean John Smith are Nicole and Derick, a pair of star-crossed lovers trying to make their way to the end of matric despite less than ideal circumstances. Smith inhabits the role of the schoolboy with sensitivity, but he’s especially impressive in his portrayal of the menacing Uncle Mikey, whose iron glare could flatten a building. (Interestingly, Williams is also most compelling when embodying an older character, in this case Nicole’s conservative mother.)

Even though her appearances aren’t that numerous, Shannon Williams’s easy-going manner ensures that the audience remain in the palm of her hand as she discusses her Kardashian-inspired makeup regime.

‘Up-and-coming’ seems an entirely inadequate description of young playwright Rhys. While this is his debut work, Rhys’s writing boasts a level of maturity that might well astound theatre-goers. With its interwoven themes of regret, fatherlessness, and the futility of hope, Kinnes avoids sentimentality and melodrama and instead goes straight for the jugular.

Kinnes debuted at the Woordfees. It will next be staged at the KKNK, thereafter it will have a run at the Artscape Theatre, 10 to 18 April 2018. Tickets available through Computicket.