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Beverley Brommert
Emotional intensity is omnipresent in UNRULY, the riveting production devised by Andrew Buckland, Neil Coppen and Dylan McGarry. UNRULY is briefly onstage at the Baxter Theatre for 8 and 9 November 2024.
Buckland, magisterial as ever in the exacting art of the one-hander (double- bassist Chantal Willie-Petersen is present on stage solely as musical accompanist), appears equally at home portraying both human and animal protagonists.
Whether one loves or loathes baboons - the creatures central to the action of UNRULY, - only an android could remain insensible to the plight of Eugene, alpha male of the troop, after Buckland's enactment of his fall from power.
On the other hand, some irritation is inevitable in the face of shrill and often thoughtless if well-meaning calls for animal rights which counter human invasion of animals' habitat: this is a commendably even-handed treatment of the issues raised in UNRULY.
Analogies abound between human society and that of primates, evoking a variety of responses from amusement to compassion to dismay. Wherever these fit into the scale of reaction, there is never a moment's trivialisation of the subject-matter despite its seasoning with wry humour.
In addition to the obvious theme of the play, secondary threads of narrative are woven into the work's dense texture, such as promoting empathy between divided communities, man's destruction of nature, materialism and the liberation that comes from renunciation of all things superfluous to a fulfilling existence.
Despite this top-heavy agenda, the 90 minutes of UNRULY's duration pass with remarkable speed, due to the calibre of Buckland's noteworthy performance and Braam Du Toit's haunting original music, soulfully delivered by Willie-Petersen on the double-bass.
This is a stellar example of Research Theatre, sponsored by Stellenbosch University's Research Ethics Committee for Social, Behavioural and Education Research.
UNRULY, presented by Empatheatre in collaboration with the Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Unruly Nature Research Project, is onstage at the Baxter Theatre on 8 and 9 November 2024, with tickets available online through Quicket. Entry is free, but booking is essential.