de Wet: Two Plays

Concealment; Fever: "A Worm in the Bud"

Reza de Wet

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781786820006
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Littérature
• Subtopic: Critique littéraire en théâtre

Includes the plays Concealment and Fever Set in England's colonial outposts in South Africa during the 19th Century, both of the plays in this volume feature sisters forced by a deeply conservative, patriarchal society to resist the powerful call of their vivid surroundings and to stifle the demands of their own rich, feminine sexuality. In Concealment, Amy and her father travel to South Africa to retrieve her recently widowed sister, but are disturbed to find her untouched by grief, unwilling to return and drawn instead to the wild, natural beauty of her moonlit garden. In Fever, Emma corresponds with Katy back in England, who learns the full and terrible extent of her sister's yearning and isolation when she discovers her hidden diary.

CONCEALMENT

Characters

FATHER (DR FROST)

An imposing man in his late fifties. He is somewhat florid, with penetrating deep-set eyes.

AMY

His eldest daughter, in her early thirties. She is pale and rather angular. Her hair is worn in a bun. She has large, luminous eyes.

MAY

A delicate girl in her late twenties. Her long, abundant hair is loosely tied back. Her skin has turned a rich, golden brown from the sun.

Concealment was first performed on 20 May 2004 in the Box Theatre at the Rhodes University Theatre complex. It was produced by Rhodes Drama Department on the occasion of the Rhodes University Centenary celebrations. The cast were:

FATHER (DR FROST), Lindsay Reardon

AMY, Dani Marais

MAY, Ashleigh May Kok

Director Reza de Wet

Designer Roux Engelbrecht

Lighting Clay Williams

The action takes place on board a steamship and in the interior of colonial Africa during the early 1900s.

THE SET

The stage is divided into different playing areas. Upstage right is the dining room. There is an entrance back that leads to the bedrooms and an entrance right that leads to the kitchen and the garden. Upstage left is AMY’s room with an entrance left. These areas take up two-thirds of the stage depth. The shallower front section is used for the steamship, the garden and the river. MAY’s bedroom is placed centrestage with an entrance downstage right. Two large, movable scrims are used to separate these areas. They are mounted on metal frames which move noiselessly and quickly. When the dining room is indicated, the screen is in front of the bedroom. When the bedroom is indicated, the screen is in front of the dining room. The steamship, the garden and the river are set in front of the two screens. When the action takes place in MAY’s house or garden, two gobos of green, long-leafed exotic plants are projected onto the screens whenever they are seen. For a few scenes, as indicated, the scrims become transparent revealing the action behind them.

The dining room: a long, heavy table. The head of the table upstage. There is a chair at the head of the table and a chair on either side of the table. A window gobo throws window squares onto the floor far right.

The bedroom: a narrow cast-iron bed with a mosquito net. A small table right and a wooden chair near the bed. A window gobo throws window squares onto the floor far left.

Steamboat: two deckchairs right front. These are isolated in a pool of light.

The river: the front of the stage is used. The scrims are suffused with the deep red of the setting sun.

The garden: either the left or the right side of the stage can be used. When the garden bench is in view, it is placed centre left.

For MAY’s room, the two screens are set at a sharp angle centrestage, where there is a narrow, iron bed. The leafy gobos are projected onto the screens. The gobo projections give a cold green light to the scene.

Lighting. The interior scenes, whether by day or by night, should be darkly lit. For the day scene this creates a sense of a gloomy, shuttered house, and for the night scenes a contrast between the fragile, flickering candles and the vast surrounding darkness.

SCENE ONE

A steamship. A bright sunny day. The sound of water lapping. FATHER and AMY are sitting in deckchairs on the deck. AMY is reading and FATHER is looking out to sea. It is a bright, hot day.

FATHER: Look at that sun boiling down. And not a breeze. The sea is like glass. (Licks his finger and holds it up.) Hardly a thing! In the days of the sailing ships, we would have been stuck here in the doldrums for weeks. Thank God for modern civilization. And then this of course, as I was saying, he had such a fair skin. I mean…would you go out in that? (Pointing out.) I told him to be careful. I told them both. And a doctor. He should have known better.

AMY: I agree, father. It seems…so unnecessary.

FATHER: In fact…I was against the whole thing from the beginning. You remember that don’t you? I’m not surprised that it ended in tragedy.

AMY: I do, father.

FATHER: But you rather supported him. Supported the whole foolish venture. I couldn’t understand that. It really disappointed me at the time.

AMY: You see, father…there was something in him. He seemed…not to fear martyrdom! I felt…so very sympathetic.

FATHER: Martyrdom! Look where that got him. It is not that I don’t sympathise with the idealism of philanthropists…but one should simply not take it too far. The prominence of his family…his excellent education…such a waste. Surely there are enough missionaries. They are the scourge of the colonies. Priggish men without distinction. Well…maybe he was one of them. He certainly had their particular brand of…narrow fanaticism. I said it then and I say it again. I don’t know what she saw in him. And almost twice her age. With her looks and vivacity…she could have made a brilliant marriage. Ah, but let me not dwell on that.

AMY: (Tearful.) Father…I must ask you not to speak of him in this way. I really don’t think it’s fitting. He died only…so recently…and then… I’m afraid… I cannot agree with you on this. I think…he was an exceptional…a gifted…sensitive…and giving person. (Getting more distressed.) And I think May was very fortunate to be his wife…even…for such a short time.

FATHER: Calm down my dear. Calm down. Since we started on this voyage…I’ve noticed that you are easily excited. It’s the seasickness, wearing you out, making you susceptible to these…uncharacteristic outbursts. Luckily I know about these things so I don’t blame you. (Suddenly noticing something in the sea.) And what is that? Over there? (Pointing.) Can you see it? It’s over there! There!

AMY: (Softly and tearfully.) No, father.

FATHER: Maybe it’s a porpoise. Or a dolphin. There it is again! (Watches.) Now it’s gone, I can’t see it anymore.

AMY: (Still distressed.) If only you could have heard him speaking, father, as he used to speak to me! He used to speak so freely! With such…passionate conviction! Because he knew…I was sympathetic. You made him feel…a little awkward. Even May…didn’t really understand. But I…brought out the best in him! If only you could have seen how…

FATHER: (Interrupting.) I’m ...