| Amadeus by Peter Shaffer When: April 12 for May 18, 2024 Where: Pieter Toerien’s Theatre On The Bay Cast: Alan Committie, Lisa Tredoux, Aidan Scott, Orsini Rosenburg, Mark Elderkin, Phumi Mncayi, Miguel de Sampaio, Léa Blerk Director: Geoffrey Hyland Tickets: R180 – R300 Bookings: Webtickets |
The South African 2024 production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus is extraordinary. It is an extraordinary production of an exceptional play which has become a contemporary classic for good reason. Directed by Geoff Hyland with verve and energy, Alan Committie is a triumph as the hubristic Salieri -the court composer doing everything to get rid of his rival, Mozart – played deliciously by Aiden Scott. This is a fresh and vital revival of the much loved play.
Hyland heightens the insights into Mozart and his love of opera as a genre and medium and the creative process, which I loved. In previous viewings, I did not register how much Schaffer peels back in terms of the prodigious talent of Mozart as a visionary storyteller and his embrace of opera.
Peter Shaffer has stated that the play is not historically correct (it is “fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri”) although there are aspects of truth in the narrative but still when watching other stagings, for me the whodunnit aspect was foregrounded, buttressed with the rantings of Salieri against God, in his quest to topple Mozart. In Hyland’s sparkling staging, I was wowed by the wrangling with Mozart’s genius and as I say the creative process which I found absolutely enchanting and enthralling and the moving – the tragedy of Mozart dying so young, a pauper.
The set is stripped back opulence – with the cast dressed in ripped denim jeans, ruffles, and thrift store emo (inspired costume design by Ilka Louw). It is as if they went and rummage in Lower Main Rid Observatory and assembled their wardrobe. Seams and threads are outside – deconstructed fraying.
Amadeus is set in the latter part of the 18th century – in high society Vienna, with the men in wigs, big hair styles, and prissy pony tails. Salieri (an Italian by birth was the court composer of the Hapsburg’s monarchy. In this production. Salieri is a character stuffed with hubris, ambition, gluttony. He has a god complex (like a surgeon complex). In the productions that I have seen Salieri is wigged and primped. In this production, Committie looks like thug – which Salieri is – without the usual wig one sees in this play. He looks like a prison warden, a death camp commander in Stormtrooper boots. He is menacing, alluring and seductive in his gluttony, ambition as he claws into his celebrity and quest for immortality. Of course, as we know Mozart’s’ legacy lives on and Salieri has been relegated to background. Dramatically, this production is a joy in not getting hampered by the God duel and not being weighed down visually, by stuffed opulence. It is opulent – without being stuffed- stripped back opulence.
Mozart is not an easy role to play and the character can come across as silly. Scott nails the Duracell bunny, the genius but keeps the manic energy in check and imbues the tragedy of Mozart’s turmoil, struggles and dying young at the age of 35 (December 5, 1791). It is staggering to consider his oeuvre of work. It is beautifully conjured up in this production – the loss of this talent – gone way too soon – never mind the speculation if he died by poison from Salieri.
In addition to Alan Committie and Aiden Scott, the ensemble cast is terrific- teasing out the mirth and comedy in Shaffer’s brilliant text. Hyland is a director who doesn’t impose accents on his actors and there is mash up of accents and argot which each character brings which adds colour to people behaving badly in the madcap court of culture. Mark Elderkin as Emperor Joseph II, cracked me up with toff nosed affected accent. Loved it.
I would have been great to see a pianist on stage, as accompanist, to enhance the ambient sound design by Gideon Lombard, but I can imagine that this was beyond the budget. But that is a small point which I raise. This Amadeus is not to be missed. I loved all two hours which whizzed by in a flash of theatrical magic.
✳ Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, on stage in South Africa 2024, starring Alan Committie and directed by Geof Hyland. Pic by Keaton Ditchfield. Supplied.
