Fork lightning may have illuminated the London sky last night, but inside the Tricycle theatre the world was sparse and barren.
Set against a dry, desert landscape, Koos Sas: Last Bushman Of Montagu, the second piece in the Tricycle theatre’s short South African season, is a simple musical telling a simple historical tale.
Koos Sas is the last of his kind; a man of the land, freely roaming, taking food where he can find it. But his freedom encroaches on laws and rules by which the rest of the country abides.
Its set-up is easily recognisable, reminiscent of Les Misérables’s Valjean and Javert; the misunderstood ‘criminal’ and his authoritarian adversary whose lives are intertwined, giving one an insight into the other. Throw in a love story and the basic plot is complete.
Yet away from the straightforward conceit is the very sinister undertone of Western racism which emanates from a jolly, whiskey-swigging Scot with an accent you could bathe in, who is interested first in collecting pictures of the ‘primitive’ bushmen and then their corpses, so that science can prove the superiority of the more evolved Western man. The most disturbing aspect, of course, is that the story is based on truth.
Among the cast are two members of the Laurence Olivier Award-winning company of Kat And The Kings, with the wide-eyed Jody Abrahams, somewhat reminiscent of a bushbaby, joyfully exuberant as the childlike Hendrik Skilpad, and Loukmaan Adams lending no unnecessary movement to the superhuman bushman of the title.
David Kramer’s songs are as pared down as the story, simple tunes and harmonies giving them a sense of childlike innocence which runs throughout the piece. With each character directly addressing the audience, we are always aware that we are being told a story.
This tale, however, is rooted in fact. Like yesterday’s lightning, it is briefly illuminating, and while it may be enjoyable to watch, when fully considered it becomes deeply unsettling.
MA