A Lesson From Aloes - HartBeat Ensemble

A Lesson from Aloes, by South African playwright Athol Fugard, is being given a noteworthy production by HartBeat Ensemble, playing at the Austin Arts Center on the Trinity College campus. 

 

Brian Jennings, Rebecka Jones, and Godfrey L. Simmons in A Lesson From Aloes.  Photo by Nick Caito.

 

The play, written in 1978, during the heightened conflict of the apartheid regime in the country, takes place in 1963.  We learn that Piet (Brian Jennings), an Afrikaner and former bus driver, has, years earlier,  left his position and taken up the cause of racial injustice with Steve (Godfrey L. Simmons Jr.), a Black South African and leader of the resistance.  In the process, the two have become fast friends.  But the years have not been kind.  Steve has just been released from jail for his actions, and Piet’s wife, Gladys (Rebecka Jones), is on the verge of another mental breakdown after previously being institutionalized.  Piet is alone with his aloe plants after being shunned by friends and colleagues on suspicion of being the police informer who sent his friend to prison.

 

Brian Jennings, Rebecka Jones, and Godfrey L. Simmons in A Lesson From Aloes.  Photo by Nick Caito.

Act I has Piet and Gladys in preparation for a farewell meal for Steve and his family, as the one-time activist is being forced to leave for England.  We learn about the lives Piet and Gladys share, and the emotional turmoil they have experienced in the police state.  In Act II, Steve arrives…alone.  There is a mistrust in the air as he suspects Piet of being the traitor.  In bitter, highly charged conversations, the politics of freedom, loyalty, and friendship are dissected and, in the end, obliterated.

 

 

Godfrey L. Simmons in A Lesson From Aloes.  Photo by Nick Caito.

 

Fugard, who knew firsthand the devastating impact of apartheid on his people, slowly builds the tension of the play from playful banter to the shattering finale.  There is a passionate emotional quality that weaves its way throughout the production.  While the encounters between characters can be riveting, some portions of the show, primarily in Act I, could have been shortened to make the play leaner and even more captivating.

 

Brian Jennings in A Lesson From Aloes.  Photo by Nick Caito.

Director Vernice Miller allows the action to unfold at an unhurried pace, letting Fugard’s dialogue be the guide.  There are many instances of silence and patience, which heighten the verbal sparring between husband and wife, and the two friends. 

 

Rebecka Jones and Brian Jennings in A Lesson From Aloes.  Photo by Nick Caito.

The three seasoned performers are superb, fully realizing their characters’ strengths and weaknesses.  Brian Jennings imbues Piet with an inner fortitude and an outward effusiveness that belies his private struggles.  The actor is at his best when just standing, staring, and allowing the accusations to pelt him.  Like the aloe plant in the title of the play, he is hardy sole even in such a hostile environment.  Rebecka Jones effectively infuses the character of Gladys with a somber, anxiety-ridden dread that encapsulates the mistrust and fright from a political state.  As with Jennings, her silent terrors speak volumes.  Godfrey L. Simmons Jr., the Artistic Director of HartBeat Ensemble, but also an accomplished actor who has recently graced the stages of Theaterworks Hartford and Hartford Stage, is like a cornered large cat waiting for the opportunity to strike.  He prowls the stage, eyes searching for potential dangers as he confronts Piet and is verbally goaded by Gladys.  Simmons doesn’t just appear in Act II.  He envelopes it.

A Lesson From Aloes, playing at the Austin Arts Center on the Trinity College campus through October 17.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.