theatre

He Died Smiling - Review

WE LEFT SMILING!

"He Died Smiling" ended its too-short run at the Windybrow Theatre in Hillbrow on Saturday, 24th March. Writer/director/producer/narrator, Marc Kwabema Boone, describes his work as "a play about Life, Death & Life after Death" and, given the wide range of issues it touches upon, that is probably the most accurate description that is possible.

Briefly, it is the story of a young gay man, Paul, played by Termain Kyles, who is fatally stabbed outside a club by one of those heavies who specialise in pretending to be gay so they can pick up gay men and rob them. As Paul lays dying, he communicates with an unseen Spirit (Boone) who encourages him to change his perception of his life and death, so that his entry into the next life can be free of pain and regret.

There follows a series of pseudo flashbacks, interspersed with the continuing dialogue between him and the Spirit, in which Paul reconstructs the significant features of his life - namely his relationship with his parents (Shaun Harris and Jaqi Moloi), and the approach of the Christian religion to his sexuality - so that they happen in the way he would have preferred. For me, this play is very much about our struggle, as gay people, for love and acceptance - from both self and others - and the fears that assail us, as we contemplate our place in the moral/religious scheme of things.

So many of us in the audience that Saturday night identified strongly with Paul when he said "I didn't like church. I loved God, but when they told me God didn't like homosexuals because he didn't want no perverts in heaven…..well, let's just say I became indifferent towards God. I never hated him though. I just wish church could've been different…." And didn't we all wish for a religion which would tell us that, in the words of the Preacher (played superbly by Mamaki Mlangeni), "who you love should never matter more than the fact that you love ….. cause everything good is a blessing from God."

And consider the self-loathing, the internalised homophobia, so beautifully summarised in the opening scene statement of Paul's attacker, played by Dominic, to the effect that "that's what I hate about these moffies - they don't even try to fight back. They just lay there and take it." "He Died Smiling" is also about our tendency to focus on physical beauty, and the emptiness of relationships based only on physical criteria. This idea was treated a little over-sentimentally, perhaps, using the medium of the story (a fairy tale about a beautiful character called Celsius, also played by Kyles) within the story, but the point was, nonetheless, well made.

Martin Gustaffson, in his stage debut, delighted the audience with his queenly portrayal of the scheming king who contrived to have the unspeakable beauty of Celsius for himself; while HUMCC lead singer Martin Machapa, as the little beggar boy, showed that he has dramatic as well as musical talent, although the latter is by far the superior of the two. Generally speaking, the acting was competent, and the production, though busy, was relatively smooth. However, there was little of brilliance, apart from the above-mentioned performances of Mlangeni and Gustafsson, and Machapa's always heart-stirring singing.

Special mention must also be made of Moloi's beautiful contralto, which saved the day for her otherwise lacklustre depiction of the Angel of Mercy. Kyles needs some professional assistance if his singing voice is going to headline in such august company. He also needs to add some more depth and colour to his performance in the lead role. I must confess I found him a little one-dimensional, particularly in the dying scenes with the Spirit. In fairness to him, however, this was perhaps more the fault of the scripted dialogue for those scenes, which was monotonously repetitive, and the direction throughout the play, which failed to assist the actors in the development of their characters.

Long ago, as an entrant in a high school drama competition, I was told by the judges, highly-respected theatre veterans, that a playwright should never, never, never also direct and act in his/her own work. It is advice I have never forgotten, and now pass on to Boone, whose production could certainly have benefited from the differing perspectives that an outside director would have brought. Apart from needed cuts to the dying scenes dialogue, the use of the stage by all the actors might have been improved, and the appropriate focus maintained in all the scenes.

For instance, as delightful as Machapo was when he came on stage in drag, his appearance in the final scene was just wrong, as it distracted the audience completely from the pathos of the farewell between Paul and his parents, which was central to what I thought were some of the play's more important statements. And, since I'm picky, I could hardly fail to notice that Paul did not, in fact, "die smiling". Despite these flaws, Boone's production is a commendable effort which was thoroughly enjoyable, and made for a theatre evening well-spent.

I look forward to its intended remounting towards the end of this year, because "He Died Smiling" is also, and more importantly, a wake-up call for those of us who don't see the need for activism. It is an invitation to decide whether we will "just lie there and take" the steady diet of negativity with which we are fed, or, instead, take up the challenge to make things happen the way we want them to, so that we, like Paul, can go into a new life freed from the burdens of pain and regret.

To the top

Back to the Arts and Culture Page