"Victory" by Athol Fugard

Last night turned out to be date night. Earlier on in the week I bought tickets to Victory a play by South African Playwright Athol Fugard through this service I subscribe to called http://www.goldstar.com/ which provides lower price tickets -- a real find. Anyway there are a number of preview nights before the premier on January 25 and the tickets cost $21 for both of us including service fees instead $30 at the window. $9 savings not bad. Enough about my frugal ways.

Set in the post-apartheid era, the play is semi-autobiographical and about a late night break-in to an elderly white man's house by black couple in search of money in a small town in South. During the noisy search, the old man discovers them and the encounter turns violent and introspective. All three characters explore how they came to be at that point and in that situation. It turns out to be a very powerful story of neglect, betrayal, and despair as all three cope in various ways with what has happened after apartheid and turning events in their lives.

The play was set in the intimate Fountain Theatre in LA and we had wonderful seats in the front row. The acting by Morlan Higgins who has also acted in another of Athol's plays Exits and Entrances, Lovensky Jean-Baptiste, and Tinashe Kajese was inspired. Ms. Kajese is actually from South Africa but I could not find much about her on the web. There are very lame pages on IMDB and IBDB (Internet Broadway Database).

It only lasts a short hour and ten minutes but you are captivated all the way because you are drawn in to each of the characters' plight. When it ends you are left wanting more.

After enjoying it so thoroughly I now want to see a couple of his other plays: Master Harold ... and the boys and Exits and Entrances.

The London Times wrote a good reviews about the play with some background about the author. Hope you get to see it sometime! Until next time the critic's corner is closed.