I, CLAUDIA, directed by Laura Bye (main, drama, South African premiere, Graeme College today at 11am):
Reviewed by Leon Muston, Arts Editor
THROUGH the use of four masks, actress Susan Danford turns her one-woman play into a fascinating multi-character dramatic comedy.
The central character is Claudia, aged 12 and three-quarters. Her parents have recently divorced, she hasn’t got an idea for her science project and to make matters worse – she just hit puberty.
With her life split between her mother’s house and father’s flat, Claudia doesn’t feel at home in either place and instead starts to make her own refuge in the school’s basement.
Here she stockpiles personal items like her diary and also concocts her plans to get her parents back together, such as taking hair from her mother’s hairbrush and placing it under her dad’s pillow in the hope that this will somehow reunite them.
She also steals various items of her dad’s – socks, coffee mugs etc – so that she can have him with her all the time, not just the one day a week he has custody.
Her only friend in the basement is the caretaker, Drachman, himself a refugee from the fictitious republic of Bulgonia.
He is also Danford’s second character, a man who was a big shot in his own country – artistic director of the national theatre, now reduced to picking up trash at a South African primary school. He offers reflective musings, both on his own situation and on Claudia’s.
The third characters Danford plays is Claudia’s grandfather, Douglas, a very sad character, whose wife recently died, having suffered from mental illness in the years before her death.
She forgot who he was towards the end, but somehow remembered the time he cheated on her many years before.
Claudia is aware that her parents held back on getting the divorce until grandmother’s death. And although she blames herself, she knows the real reason for the divorce – dad’s new girlfriend (and Danford’s fourth character) selfish party animal Leslie.
Claudia can’t stand this woman, particularly when the wedding is scheduled for the day before her birthday meaning dad will be away on honeymoon, missing her 13th birthday party.
Danford alternates brilliantly between the four characters, switching masks and costumes on stage without ever interrupting the flow of the story.
A lot of the production is very funny, particularly Claudia’s scenes with her pet goldfish Romeo and Juliet, while other parts of the play are very sad, almost tragic.
The soundtrack is also well chosen, with modern music for Claudia, golden oldies for grandpa and ‘80s kitsch for Leslie.
One can’t help but identify with each of the characters, even if you haven’t experienced their particular crisis, as they are well rounded, without ever needing to resort to stereotypes.
Opening night was almost sold out and with just one performance remaining this morning and a strong chance of good word of mouth business, there could be a real rush for the last few remaining tickets.
See it if you can.
Tags: caretaker, divorce, masks, one-woman show, puberty, South African premiere, Theatre review
