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Tom, Dick or Harry
“Vintage Afrikaans music with distinctive rhythms sets the scene as the play opens… Hester morphs into Kitty, the lady with a vast repertoire of sounds and expressions used to service men on the trains. Ben Voss plays the role of four men, from hapless Bertie to Innocent, a black ticket seller who is no innocent and knows exactly what Hester is up to. When the police come around, it is Innocent who warns her that there are plainclothes policemen at the station. He provides much of the humour in the play with pithy quotes from his father in which life, love and women were always compared to a railway station: “A woman is like a train, always letting off steam”. This is a character that deserves another airing. Voss also takes on the role of the man on the train who introduces Hester to her other life, as well as to the married man for whom Hester will ultimately fall. Voss moves into each role with such ease and skill that you don’t notice the changes. By the time the play closes, after a little more than an hour, you do care about the characters, from Hester (who remains charmingly naïve) to victimised Bertie… This production is slick, professional, well acted but bittersweet.”
“Daphne Kuhn's latest offering at the Liberty Theatre on the Square offers a liberating experience to voyeur into the dense and richly textured lives of poor whites…What follows is a triumphant journey through pain, guilt, grief, joy, deceit, love, disappointment and loyalty… Gretha Brazelle has a tremendous presence on stage. Both her writing and portrayal of Hester is a multi-textured complexity of Hester's biography. Ben Voss gives such incredible virtuosity to his performance in Tom, Dick or Harry. He is an absolute marvel to watch. His portrayal of Jack as a high brow auctioneer who is the catalyst in Hester's life, is filled with deviousness and mystery. His creation of Hester's poor and loyal husband is a beautiful vignette of male anxiety, incompetent love and painful loyalty… Tom, Dick or Harry is an hour long production. It offers stimulating material for an after show dinner conversation. More-so, for those of us who grew up on the other side of the Apartheid fence and who refused to believe that poor whiteys really did exist it is so much more necessary to see this play. I recommend this play to most of my BE empowered Black yuppie friends and colleagues who constantly need to be reminded that the ride for wealth through hard earned struggle and survival is so much more adventurous. In Hester's story, there is a message for us all. You won't get this message if you don't go and see this show. And even if you're White and not of the BEE type you should still go and see this play because it will get you to appreciate just how densely interesting poor whitey life can be.”
“A masterful slice of theatre that skillfully explores the fragile existence of a woman and her determination to survive some lean times…The play is only an hour in length, but one becomes so involved in Hester's fate that this period flies by very quickly. Its strengths lie not only in the cogent writing but in the abilities of these two superb performers. Director Helen Iskander, who has produced a number of gems over the years, including the wonderful "Baobabs Don't Grow Here," is adept at using her space well, allowing the movement of the characters to flow unhindered. She also introduces an ingenious way of utilising an array of different size suitcases to create the sets; a train, a railway platform, a hotel room and home. Her adroit use of sound effects to create the era is another important contribution to the play's effectiveness. Overall, "Tom, Dick or Harry" is a highly commendable production.” |