A play that recently debuted at the Adam Small Theatre Complex provides an opportunity for audience members to engage with the theme of inequality through live entertainment.
This is according to the director of Intimate Apparel, Zoettje Hofmeyr, a lecturer of English speech and voice at (SU) drama department.
This play debuted on 6 May and allowed audience members to learn about the themes of female struggle and racial inequality, she stated.
“I chose this play by Lyn Nottage, originally written in 1905, because it most importantly presents the struggles of working women at the centre of the play,” said Hofmeyr. Even though Intimate Apparel is set in an earlier time, it is still relevant for women today because the struggles of women are not over yet, she stated.
The play, Intimate Apparel, is set to have seven shows in total. These performances will take place on 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13 May, with two performances on 14 May, according to Zoettje Hofmeyr, a lecturer of English speech and voice at Stellenbosch University’s drama department. Captured above are Vukile Maseko and Mikayla Brown, two of the cast members of Intimate Apparel. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
Focusing on diversity
Four out of the six characters in this play are black characters, according to Hofmeyr.
Mikayla Brown, an SU drama honours student who plays the role of Esther in the play, said in written correspondence with MatieMedia that she thinks it is “amazing that the play requires a diverse cast”.
“It was really nice for me to see how, during the callbacks, there were three men of colour auditioning for the role of George [Armstrong],” Brown said. She explained that, over the past few years, she has seen an increase of black male students in the drama department and it was thus “so beautiful to see how the department has become more diverse”.
The character of George Armstrong was portrayed by Nirel Sithole, a third-year SU drama student. “As a black South African man, I think that Intimate Apparel provides an opportunity for the stories of black males throughout history to be told,” he stated.
Christian Schoeman, a Stellenbosch University drama honours student, who portrays the character of Mr Marks in the play, Intimate Apparel, stated that attending the play is an occasion to “put on your nice clothes and good shoes and to attend the theatre once again”. Captured above are Christian Schoeman and Nirel Sithole, cast members of Intimate Apparel. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
Relevant for society
Intimate Apparel tackled issues that the South African and global society face, said Dr Mareli Pretorius, a lecturer of Afrikaans speech and voice at the SU drama department, who attended the opening night of the play.
“The thing that stood out to me [in the play] is the hierarchies of class, race and gender that are still relevant for our society today,” Pretorius said in written correspondence with MatieMedia.
Intimate Apparel is the first live performance with an interval that Stellenbosch University’s (SU) drama department has put on in the past two years. This is according to Vukile Maseko, an SU drama honours student, who plays the role of Mrs Dickson in the play. PHOTO: Supplied/Rikus Terblanche
Gender-based violence was another theme in this play, according to Paul Gammie, another attendee of the play’s opening night, said in written correspondence with MatieMedia.
“South Africa is still facing a dangerous climate of gender-based violence and a play like [Intimate Apparel] can highlight how abuse appears in relationships,” said Gammie. Plays such as Intimate Apparel have “a way of starting conversation […] to help us discuss contentious issues” Gammie explained.