Rob Murray, the director of Quack, explained that they “are asking the audience to experience theatre in a way they might not have before, and thus consider the whole transaction, and its creators, in a different light.”
Quack certainly succeeds in doing this and in giving a “visceral and visual bombardment of the senses”. The visual bombardment is created in large part by Janni Younge's extraordinary masks. (She has just won the 2010 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for theatre.) The masks themselves are eerily expressive. The lead character's slightly larger-than-life dreadlocked mask had bared teeth that sometimes seemed to be a smile and sometimes seem to be a snarl. Two of the masks had only one eye and they were in large part responsible for creating the Afro-Gothic look of the play.
The set and props, by Jesse Kramer, also add to the rather grim fantasy setting. At the top of a little tower the man mixes his magic ingredients and has things winched up to him in a basket. There were many quirky touches, even before getting into the theatre, such as the “lost soles” - a collection of shoes hanging from the stairs - and little pictures and notices leading one in to the theatre.
Although the visual bombardment was strong, strangely enough, I found the auditory bombardment even stronger. James Webb and Brydon Bolton created a very evocative soundscape, sometimes almost unbearable in intensity, but creating a rich backing for the action, which was created by eight actors who were precise and expressive in their movements. I'm not entirely sure what the action was all about; the programme notes explain that a man lies dying in hospital and that the action is about the delirium that takes him into a parallel universe. Here we encounter him as a quack doctor, a healer, a politician, a magician, collecting the dreams and hopes that he sucks out of others and mixes in his pot at the top of his tower.
Quack has already played to rave reviews at the National Arts Festival and has been invited to the QuestFest in the US next year. It runs at The Intimate Theatre until Saturday 21st and there is a special Singles/Mingles night for Friday 13th, at which speed dating happens after the show.
Do yourself a favour. Get to Quack and be surprised, moved, freaked out and entertained.
