Review: A Good House, Royal Court Theatre
[review]
My reaction on leaving the theatre after seeing this play was to describe my feeling in physical movement. Not the most useful reaction for a written review. I shook myself, raised my eyebrows and breathed out. This seems to be a common occurrence on leaving the Royal Court, a theatre not afraid to push boundaries and challenge its audiences. A Good House is uncomfortable, shocking and unpretentious.
The play centres around a suburban community in South Africa, Stillwater, filled with new homes, for successful people with lots of money. Then, on a piece of empty land, a shack appears, containing “invisible people”. No one has seen who built the shack, or who lives there. We meet three couples, two white and one black. It all seems quite respectable at first. Cheese platters and a wine aerator. But underneath the veneer of respectability there’s racism and fear.
It’s a startlingly uncomfortable play to witness, and some of the most powerful moments come as Sihle (Sifiso Mazibuko) lets his guard drop. The white couples freeze on stage as Sihle and his wife Bonolo (Mimî M Khayisa) struggle against the racism they face from their neighbours. Moments when Sihle speaks Zulu are striking, a language his wife barely understands. The politics of South Africa is a powerful underscore to the play.
Khayisa and Mazibuko are a triumph, there’s no doubt that they’re a married couple with their own internal conflicts; a reference to a Slinky advert only available on 1980s satellite TV being a funny yet striking way to differentiate their upbringings. Mazibuko plays the role of “respectable neighbour” in a way that appears kind, but beneath the surface is dripping in sarcasm. And Mimî’s wine pouring scene is one of the most comically awkward moments I’ve ever witnessed.
The disgust you eventually feel for the two white couples is a testament to how brilliant the performances of Kai Luke Brummer, Olivia Darnley, Robyn Rainsford and Scott Sparrow are. It’s a challenge to separate the actors from the roles, they are all utterly believable. Seemingly friendly and welcoming at first, attitudes and prejudices that you can’t forget soon emerge.
The set is simple, the new build estate lending itself perfectly to easy scene changes moving you between their homes, with the looming shack gradually growing against the back wall throughout. Sliding panels and basic furniture adjustments work beautifully, with the cast making an elegant performance of each scene change.
There’s a warning of loud noises before you enter the theatre, and whilst that meant I spent most of the show waiting for someone to pull out a gun, in fact it just means the music. This feels a little unnecessary, but there are some brilliant uses of loud music throughout, including a hilarious accidental blasting of Minnie Riperton’s ‘Les Fleurs’.
This is the first performance of the play, and Amy Jephta’s writing is startling. It’s a fast-paced script which has you laughing one minute and shrinking into your seat in uncomfortable horror the next. The racism, and Sihle and Bonolo’s differing reactions to it, are hard to witness.
On reading the play text afterwards I see that the Zulu words Sihle speaks in the last few minutes translate as “Remember to be invisible and move slowly so you don’t wake them. Sometimes it is best not to wake them; few things in the world are as dangerous as sleepwalkers.” I didn’t need to understand the words as they were performed to grasp their meaning.
Written by Amy Jephta
Directed by Nancy Medina
Design by: ULTZ
Lighting design by: Chris Davey
Coposed by: Femi Temowo
Sound design by: Elena Peña
Produced by: Royal Court Theatre and Bristol Old Vic, in association with The Market Theatre
Originally co-comissioned by the Royal Court Theatre with the Fugard Theatre, South Africa
A Good House plays at Royal Court Theatre until 8 February. Further information and tickets available here.