Sandton audiences experience the vegan taste of NAF

Love is said to have the power to overcome all obstacles. But what happens when your partner changes so dramatically over a short period of time, that they become a stranger before your eyes?

James, portrayed by Aaron McIlroy, welcomed the audience to the opening show of A vegan killed my marriage on July 3, with a graphic anecdote on how cows are led to be slaughtered.

The play centres around James’ decision to stop eating meat after investigating the journey taken by meat to arriving on dinner plates.

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He travelled to KZN, to a Buddhist temple, where his diet had to change, or else he would starve. James, however, found himself feeling incredible after a few days without meat.

By the time he left the temple, he was a vegetarian; and by the time he arrived back home, he had become a complete stranger to his wife.

The one-man-show perfectly articulates how quickly conviction can breed fanaticism in how James goes from being level-headed, to becoming completely meat-intolerant, and savage to carnivores. His outburst intensified so widely to the point where he flipped out at a braai, and started flinging meat off the grill – leaving only his mushroom on the braai.

That’s when his wife left James in the production, which was written and directed by Craig Freimond.

After the show, McIlroy confirmed that although the production is based on a true story, a lot of creative licence had been taken towards presenting A vegan killed my marriage to live audiences.

“We’ve manufactured some of the parts – like how the braai didn’t exactly happen like that,” McIlroy said. “I think this story isn’t just about veganism, it’s also about how we deal with change, conflict, and how wrong it can go in relationships. That’s the other major theme, I think.”

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McIlroy shared the show’s history, from starting out as a 23-minute online play during Covid, to evolving into an hour-long award-winning production.

We found that there was a lot of interest from different groups to make it into a longer piece,” said McIlroy. “We got the bronze award, the third-best show on the Fringe, at the National Arts last year with this; and this year, I went back to the National Arts Festival for our second run there.”

For a taste of some of the magic presented at this year’s National Arts Festival in Makhanda, A vegan killed my marriage will be showing at the Theatre on the Square for Sandton audiences until July 14.

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