CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Before the state strips them of their hard-won humanity, Fugard fills it in. Philander is a wise lover; he sees Frieda’s fright and soothes her with the thought of the vast antiquity of the land they’re lying on; he finds special solace in a line from the geologist Sir Charles Lyell: “no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end.” In that timeless state–and not in 1966–Frieda and Philander are just humans in love. He plays a game where they pretend they only have 43 cents left in the world. She finds it impractical–he loves how it evens everything out, just as love does: when she’s not there, other people seem filled with “rags” and he’s just a married schoolteacher with an identity pass. Without her, Philander’s pride is built on a lie; he can lose her and it in a moment.
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Meryl Friedman’s unforced staging delivers it all. To hear these lines is to feel their inevitability. just as effectively, Friedman balances the lovers’ vulnerability against their ardor. Romeo and Juliet should be this universal.
It’s a rotten no-win situation. If they stay and perform, the Council might kill them and persecute their families. If they renounce the festival, the South African government will strip them of all visas and “ban” them through virtual house arrest. Either way they’re done with acting or any work.
