‘The Revlon Girl’ tells the tale of surviving loss

Disaster is a serious matter. But a new play, The Revlon Girl, about the Aberfan disaster in 1966 is remarkably warm, sorrowful and, at times, amusing.

It deals with four mothers grieving the loss of their children in the Welsh mining village of Aberfan when disaster struck in 1966.

The “tips” – essentially man-made hills of discarded coal near the mine – collapsed, sliding down onto the village below and killing 144 people in a few minutes. Of these, 116 were children, whose school lay in the path of the slide.

The play is running at the Auto & General Theatre on the Square, Nelson Mandela Square until December 1.

It features a strong South African cast of Heidi Mollentze, Michelle Douglas, Julie-Anne McDowell, Marianthe Smart and Natasha Sutherland.

Set eight months after the tragedy, The Revlon Girl recounts the story of the bereaved mothers who have gathered for an almost ceremonial visit from one of the Revlon make-up girls. The play’s themes touch upon grief, guilt, greed, religion and the horrific etiquette of mourning.

In an interview, director Steven Feinstein told me how he had first heard of the play from friends who had seen it at the Edinburgh Festival.

They suggested his production company, Search For Productions, stage it in Johannesburg. “One of my partners, Michelle Douglas, contacted the playwright, Neil Anthony Docking, who was thrilled at the idea of his play being produced in South Africa.”

The Revlon Girl has already won several awards in the UK and Docking felt that his play would resonate with South African audiences.

The Revlon Girl

On what attracted him to the play, he said: “On the one hand because it’s based on real events that could and should have been avoided and on the other hand, I was attracted to the text because of how human it was.

“The devastating effects and loss are addressed, but the play also centres around friendship, and the healing that happens when we mourn together.

“I was surprised at how funny it was! The play holds a balance between dark and light which was a key interest for me as a director. Although the themes of the play centre around loss, the play also speaks to the strength of the human spirit and the fortitude required in moving on after tragedy.

“South African audiences will relate to the mining themes and the irresponsibility of those in power. I believe that they will also resonate with the humour and the characters’ experiences while processing and navigating through their grief.”

Feinstein said: “There’s an old saying that casting is 50% of the work and that is true. When I cast actors, I am not only casting according to appropriateness of character, but also according to the energy and spirit I can see in the actors.

“Those subtleties, psychologies, nuances and emotional availabilities are what actors bring to the table. It’s my job as a director to help actors bring that out of themselves.”

He said there were five women in the play and he was “very sensitive” to casting five very different energies. The director added that the other crucial element of this production was that its strength lay in its ensemble work. There are no leads. While casting he was always aware of bringing the right combination and balance between five contrasting actor energies.

Feinstein started as an actor, but went on to major in directing at university. “The theatre, for me, is a temple of truth. It can be a space for entertainment but also a sacred space of truth telling, a space where there is a sanctified contract between audience and actor, where a profound connection can be made, beliefs can be questioned and new ways of thinking can be provoked.”

The Revlon Girl is the third production he, Michelle Douglas and Lawrence Joffe have done through their company, Search for Productions.

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