Words Toby Bakare
A strange tale of infidelity in a 1950s Johannesburg township is to be staged at London's Young Vic theatre next year.
The Suit is a musical play based on a short story written by the late South African journalist and playwright Can Themba.
In the play, a husband returns home to find his wife in bed with her lover. As he escapes, the man leaves his suit behind – and as a punishment and constant reminder of her infidelity, the husband orders his wife to treat the suit as an honoured guest.
“This is a really powerful story, simply told,” says David Lan, the artistic director of the Young Vic, who also hails from South Africa. Although admitting the play has a surreal edge, Lan says: "It's a play about how difficult it is to live".
Directed by acclaimed British theatre director Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne, the production will be performed by an international cast of actors, singers and musicians, including Nonhlanhla Kheswa and Jared McNeill.
Despite a recent run of Africa-related productions in London, such as FELA! or Oval House's recent festival of Nigerian playwriting, OMO London, Lan says: “It is very unusual to have a play on like this in London".
The Suit was first performed as a play at the Young Vic back in 2001, under the name Le Costume. The score of the new musical production was arranged by French composer Franck Krwczyk.
Themba was an investigative journalist who wrote journalistic reports and short stories for the iconic Drum magazine in South Africa. His work often has a political edge, and only became freely available in his homeland in the 1980s – some 30 years after its first publication.
The Suit is at the Young Vic from May 21-June 16 2012. For more information visit www.youngvic.org.