Comrades Arms

full-length farce by Anthony Akerman, 2000.

Subject

The setting is Knysna, the establishment a B&B known as The Comrades Arms - so titled because its owner is a returned exile. Chaos breaks out when his wife suspects him of being involved with the pretty young waitress who seems determined to remove her clothes at any opportunity. There is an unreliable telephone system and the situation is further complicated by the arrival of what appears to be a sinister outsider who is “looking for a girl”. It takes the intervention of a smooth undercover operator to sort out the chaos.

Performance history in South Africa

First presented as a staged reading at The Kultcha Klub on 13 November 1999. Presented by The Kultcha Klub and Jumping Dust at the Grahamstown Festival 2000, directed by the author, starring David Butler, Nicole Abel, Lynne Maree, John Lata, Ben Kruger and Joss Levine. Set and costumes by Monique Grarden, lighting designer Declan Randall, stage manager Monique May. The same production played in the Wits Theatre Complex in August 2000, in the Hilton College Theatre in November 2000 and in the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban in November and December 2000. It was staged at the State Theatre in May 2001, directed by Akerman, with David Butler, Judy Broderick, Heidi Mollentze, John Nhlanhla Lata, Ben Kruger and Joss Levine.

Sources

National Arts Festival programme, 2000. Artsmart, 2000.

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