The Woman with a Baby on her Back
'The woman with a baby on her back' is the result of a collaboration between Pieter van Zyl (actor) and Prof Thomas Leabhart, director and senior professor in drama at the Pomona College in Claremont, California. The play was given its first performances at the Seaver Theater in California, where it was received with much praise and acclaim. The performances at the Alexander Theatre mark the South African premiere of the play. Athol Fugard is one of South Africa's most esteemed playwrights. He is best known for his political plays opposing apartheid and for the 2005 Academy Award-winning film of his novel Tsotsi. The recipient of many awards and honorary degrees, he is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Pieter van Zyl (actor) has studied acting at the Akademie van Dramakuns in Cape Town and then continued his theatre studies in London, Paris and California, specializing in the corporeal mime technique of Etienne Decroux. In London, as a member of Theatre de l'Ange Fou, he performed in 'Entangled Lives' (Tardieux) and 'The Government Inspector' (Gogol); and in California in 'Spoonriver Anthology' (Masters) and 'Maid To Marry' (Ionesco). In South Africa he created four plays that were much influenced by his study of corporeal mime: 'On a green footpath'; 'BREAD'; 'When the saints go marching'; 'Early Works - a love story'. For the Spier production of 'The Great Gatsby', directed by Peter Joucla, he played the character of Wilson. Pieter's voice is regularly heard in plays and readings on RSG. He has a master's degree in music and also works as a musician.
Thomas Leabhart (director) is Professor of Theatre and Resident Artist at the Pomona College in Claremont, California. He frequently teaches and performs in Europe, Asia and South America and is a member of ISTA (International School of Theatre Anthropology) Artistic Staff. His specific areas of scholarship is Etienne Decroux, with whom he studied from 1968 - 1972. Thomas Leabhart is the most published writer on the subject of corporeal.
Media & Reviews
Review
Profile: Pieter van Zyl for The Woman with a Baby on her Back
Audience Responses
Brilliant and moving portrayal by Pieter van Zyl in an intimate venue that makes it impossible not to be pulled into the drama. An unforgettable experience!
Best one man performance I have seen in a long time.
What a moving piece of theatre performed with such heart and skill by a very insightful actor. Pieter van Zyl moved effortlessly from one character to another, taking the audience on an emotional rollercoaster. It was a surprisingly uplifting show despite the tragedy of the piece and the adaptation was delicately handled with honesty and pathos. Totally absorbing! Thank you for this wonderful venue and the opportunity to see alternative theatre.
While the execution of the work was masterful, I have reservations about the subject matter being suitable for a Saturday night's entertainment.
A powerful and moving play, brilliantly performed
Excellent thanks
5 star performance - harrowing and convincing. But I felt that the script needs pruning as towards the end it felt repetitive. You were going over material and not moving the story forward. It's almost impossible to do 'harrowing' and 'guilt' non stop. I'd suggest that the script needs to be more nuanced to allow it to 'breathe'.
Wow Pieter you were amazing......that story has brought a new thought process into my head.....so strange how we always worry about the poor person that committed suicide in the meantime they have gone and left the rest in trauma......ai menier Visagie there must be lots of folk like you in this world......so thought provoking ....
I thought this adaptation was pretty successful (I do not know the original story but of course know Fugard's own dramatisation, THE TRAIN DRIVER, oddly not referred to in the publicity). Pieter van Zyl is an actor new to me. He has great focus, and delivers courageously unhurried performances as the tortured Roelf, his bewildered wife and the self-serving therapist. His portrayal of Simon, the "part-time gravedigger" , is less successful. While not going for a dazzling look-how-versatile-I-am presentation, each of his three main characters has an inner truth. With a few exceptions, the pace tends to be a bit even, and set on "slow". I missed an essential element of Fugard's work (even his darkest) viz humour (Van Zyl and his director might care to look at this). I admired the simplicity of the production, which relies totally on the performer, sans set, props, lighting or sound. Finally, Fugard's humanity & his personal and social concerns come across strongly. Recommended.
Wonderful performance!! Well done Pieter for moving so effortlessly between the different 'voices' in the play, and conveying the drama/story/emotions so well with minimal setup and props. Comments that came out in casual discussion afterwards - while Pieter held the audience's attention throughout, drama/atmosphere could perhaps have been accentuated with some minimal soundtrack being added in places - piano? percussion? But it was great and we loved it. Thank you
Bravo! Fantastic performance by Pieter van Zyl. The Restaurant food & service was also excellent. Will definitely go there again & recommend to my friends. Thank you!
magnificently done, and very moving indeed.
Intense and riveting drama, beautifully performed. Not light fare but very nourishing. Would gladly see more of this calibre.
Wow Pieter you were amazing......that story has brought a new thought process into my head.....so strange how we always worry about the poor person that committed suicide in the meantime they have gone and left the rest in trauma......ai menier Visagie there must be lots of folk like you in this world......so thought provoking ....
Rate it a 5 star I thought the acting was brilliant and compelling - interesting to see the use of body language to enhance each characterisation. A very thought-provoking piece.
A splendid 65 minutes of drama with a first rate performance by Pieter van Zyl. He did well to hold the audiences attention continuously throughout his performance, enacting the different key characters. I hope this play attracts the numbers it should.
I can highly recommend it to all my friends. The artist kept me spellbound with his excellent performance of this work by Athol Fugard. He managed the different characters very well.
brilliant acting , superb play just laways love the charm AND CHARACTER of the ALEX BAR super salad etc staff also super !! - many MANY THANKS TO YOU
brilliant acting , superb play just laways love the charm AND CHARACTER of the ALEX BAR super salad etc staff also super !! - many MANY THANKS TO YOU
Brilliant!
An intense examination of the (South African) psyche - what happens to a rational man when personal control and loss of innocence occurs. Electrifying, totally absorbing theatre experienced that left all six of us who attended talking, analysing and thoughtful afterwards. Thank you for a wonderfully acted production.