The Suit exceeded expectations laid by clever PR
Set in Sophiatown in the 50's, the play had Westdene's Bridget van Oerle as associate producer and Mothobi Mutloatse ensuring it was a smash hit.
From watching actors rehearsing in the Westdene Recreation Centre to seeing them perform on stage at the Joburg Theatre, The Suit was a triumph of theatre and emotion as 1950s Sophiatown came to life.
Considering the stellar cast and heavyweights behind the scenes, audiences were expecting and witnessing a show that lived up to the pre-opening night hype.
Based on Can Themba’s short story, for the first time, this offering included moving music composed by Thsepo Tsotetsi which heightened the emotional response of theatregoers.
The story follows the collapse of the marriage between Philemon (Vusi Kunene) and Matilda (Khutjo Green). Her affair with Orpheus (Brian Temba) sends them down an almost sadistic road with Philemon humiliating his wife at every opportunity by using her lover’s suit as a constant reminder of her infidelity and betrayal.
It is almost excruciating watching Matilda try to appease her husband by ‘playing along’ with his twisted punishment, metered out without violence or neglect.
The set does not change but with creative use of lighting and music by the New Skool Orchestra and Viwe Mkizwana, the play takes viewers on a journey as Sophiatown is destroyed just as relationships are dying. A large screen behind the actors discreetly shows imagery of the era and the pain metered out by the apartheid government.
Mothobi Mutloatse was the executive producer alongside Westdene’s own Bridget van Oerle as associate producer.
Related article:
Behind the scenes of new but old Sophiatown Theatre production
