RESPONSE TO ATHOL FUGARD'S PAINTED ROCKS...

RESPONSE TO ATHOL FUGARD’S PAINTED ROCKS... I was in my Fountain Theatre home 7 December a week before the 14 December closing of Athol Fugard’s Painted Rocks…. As I do August Wilson I do love Athol Fugard’s story telling. Athol often bends his white characters to give them more humanity than they might deserved in real situations – just as August bends his white characters to leave them with less; this clearly indicates to me that there is politics in all art: it’s inherent in the creator and the creative process. Director Simon Levy painted his vision, designers set the canvas, and the actors used their rich palette of colors to paint the story and give it life. Thomas Silcott (Nukain Mabuza) Nukain, a poor black South African, found expression and acceptance painting rocks into flowers – but he is rejected when he dares to paint himself. Suanne Spoke (Elmarie Keynhens) Elmarie, a white South African land owner, enjoys the beauty of Nukain flowers but is repulsed by his self-image and chides him for it. Gilbert Glenn Brown (Jonathan Sejake) Jonathan, a black South African Boy then Man, leaves the flower rocks and rejected image of Nukain but returns as a man to reconnect with his roots and paint new life into the image of Nukain. Philip Soloman (Bokkie) Bokkie is Jonathan as a boy and helps Nukain to paint the rocks – an aside note: Theatre and Film Makers should keep a close eye on this extraordinary talent.