Michael Cox speaks with the artistic director of the Market Theatre in South Africa about his new production The Girl in the Yellow Dress.
Michael: Can you tell me a little bit about the play?
Malcolm: The play is called The Girl in the Yellow Dress, and it is written by Craig Higginson. He is the literary manager of the theatre I work in. He is rapidly establishing himself as a novelist and as a playwright. This is his second major play, and it tells the story of a young woman who lives in London. She escapes her family and takes up residence in Paris where she teaches English to non-English speakers, and in this case she starts teaching English to a Congolese refugee.
It’s partially a story that follows the Echo and Narcissus myth, it’s partially the story between Europe and Africa, and it’s obviously a story about a teacher and a pupil. The relationship develops because, as we all know, language and power, and power and sex, are all intricately connected. As the lessons progress, they get more and more enrapt with each other, and there is a rather complex sexual relationship that develops, which is very challenging and very complicated. And also very delicate.
It’s constructed in five scenes, and each scene is a grammar lesson. It’s partially about how the English language is full of power and partially about two very rather fragile people meeting in Paris and trying to construct a life through each other, even as they echo each other and they are wrapped up in themselves.
The one thing that’s interesting though: I thought it was quite complicatedly brutal, certainly in aspects in issues of language and power and authority and men and women. It’s complicatedly delicate. There’s a very interesting tension between great delicacy and beauty of language and the complicated relationship of two people trying to find their way in the world.
The big issue is, because it comes from South Africa, we have been in a flame of antiapartheid movement and a brutal society where race is very very dominant, and issues around race are dominant. And although this play is set in Paris and is about a Britain and a Congolese, actually it’s partially about South Africa in that it’s a sort of a state-of-the-nation play, around aspects of race relations, aspects of power, aspects of a certain kind of European unconscious authority they bring to everything.
Michael: Tell me a bit about the partnership you’ve established with the British theatres who are also producing this play.
Malcolm: We’ve been establishing a relationship with Live Theatre for some five years in Newcastle, which is also a new-writing venue, and a beautiful building. They’re very similar in some qualities to the Market, being an old building transformed, dedication to new writing, dedicated to edgy but truthful plays. Over the last five years we have brought plays to each other, and finally Jim Burns who is the CO of Live Theatre said ‘Oh come on, let’s find a budget for a play we can do together.’ Yellow Dress is a two-hander, it’s a conversation between Europe and Africa, and so it felt like the right one to do.
And I have to say that the big advantage of working with Live and the Citizens in Glasgow is the level of brilliant feedback and dramaturgy that came. The play has leapt, even from last November when we did a reading at the National in London to now when [Higginson] did a rewrite in January and February for the April rehearsals. So it’s a great combination of British and South African talents.
Michael: Let’s talk a bit about your role as artistic director. You’re so busy running the company it must be hard doing artistic work that you enjoy. Did you have any difficulties wearing both hats?
Malcolm: I haven’t directed for a while because I’ve been working as the artistic director so it’s wonderful to be back in the rehearsal room. And there’s nothing so wonderful as working on a very dense, rich lovely language-driven text. I’m really lucky to have a very good company. We’ve agreed that, when I rehearse, it’s like I’m on leave effectively. My contract says that I direct three times a year, so it’s understood that’s what I should do, to keep my hand in, but it is difficult, there’s no question, and we have a very busy theatre in Johannesburg. We do up to 24 productions a year, and the season is almost throughout the whole year—48 weeks, and mostly with great success.
Michael: What’s the biggest challenge with this play for you?
Malcolm: One of the big challenges is that we started the season in a small venue, then we went to Cape Town and performed in a much larger space. We’re now appearing in a different venue with three-quarter seating in the Traverse, then it goes to the tiny space in the Citz upstairs. Then it goes to Sweden, then it goes back to the Market. Each venue has a different theatrical space with different spatial challenge. To have the actors feel comfortable in those spaces is a very big challenge, but they’re very good and they’re adjusting to each space.
I guess the other big challenge is to try to understand how a UK and international audience will appreciate this piece. We’re used to quite a lot of...vocal feedback, if you’d like. Like laughter, commentary. And I think this might be a more sort of...the British sort of response is very intense, very listening, very appreciative but not necessarily very vocal. But we will find out.
Michael: Was there a moment, when you were looking at this script the first time, that slapped you and made you say ‘I have to do this’?
Malcolm: Well, there’s a certain revelation of how men and women treat sexuality, especially between a black man and a white woman. What that does to them, and what they find pleasurable or threatening. I think that’s very interesting in the text for me. And also, it’s a play full of surprises. It’s designed to take you on a journey, make you seek one thing but then constantly throw little bombs at you and say ‘Ah, you thought that but actually it’s this.’ And in each scene there are revelations and reversals that are all very interesting.
The Girl in the Yellow Dress is performing at the Traverse from August 5-29. It will go to England before performing at the Citizens from September 21 to October 9.
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