| What: Trial and Error When: September 4-14, 2024 Performance dates: September 4-7 and September 10-14 at 19h30 Venue: Baxter Masambe Theatre, Cape Town Bookings: Webtickets Direct booking link: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=154926008 Writer and director: Emma Amber Cast: Mamello Makhetha, Ethan Saunders, Sage Van Niekerk, Kayla Van Tonder, Luella Holland, Daniel Stromin Producer: Origen Productions |
Trial and Error, written, directed and designed by Emma Amber is on in the Baxter Masambe Theatre, September 4-14, 2024. Amber was nominated for The Fleur du Cap Theatre Award Best New Director (58th awards, awarded in 2023) and her superb directing skills are evidenced in Trial and Error – the new courtroom drama she has written. This six hander is set in Georgia, USA, the third most racist state in the USA, we are told. It is a stylish courtroom drama and an intriguing psychological thriller.
In her media release, Amber reflects that the play “delves deep into the intricacies of the American justice system” and it does that but notwithstanding the American setting, it hits home about the vagaries of any legal system. So much depends on how much money one has and influence which has much to do with the outcome, particularly in high profile celebrity trials. At the heart of Trial and Error is the fact that there is a jury. The jury is supposed to be impartial and is tasked with delivering a verdict based on the evidence but evidence is not binary as we see from this play. We see 19 year old African American Amari Davies, who is charged “with manslaughter and neglect on two counts” after a car accident claims the lives of the parents of a young man of privilege. The play excavates deep into racial bias.
The theatrical device in Trial and Error is that the audience becomes the jury and is immersed in the drama on stage. It may seem random that we can vote yay or nay but this works well in underscoring the premise that legal proceedings can be hit and miss. People get off on technicalities – all over the world.
As the jury, for Trial and Error, it is not as if we have to wade through insurmountable evidence to make our decision and vote yes or no. In an interview, Amber reflects: “… I wanted to challenge myself as a writer and create a dramatic play that holds a mirror up to society, asking audience members to consider their own biases.” https://thecaperobyn.co.za/interview-staging-trial-and-error-the-play-by-emma-amber/ I am not sure if this comes across in the play – that we ponder the outcomes and which way to vote. The defendant and defence lawyer are very persuasive. I had no doubt which way I would vote. My sympathy was for the defendant. I don’t think that trials are fair. There is always bias and for me the bias works well dramatically in swaying me to stand up for the defendant.
The ensemble cast is accomplished with impressive performances all round. The actors are: Mamello Makhetha, Ethan Saunders, Sage Van Niekerk, Kayla Van Tonder, Luella Holland and Daniel Stromin. Mamello Makhetha as Amari and Kayla van Tonder as Defence Lawyer and are standouts in terms of their use of gesture and nuance.
The accents (a mix of American accents – from Georgia, California, Washington and elsewhere in the USA- are held throughout and are believable. Each protagonist is fleshed out. The play doesn’t have much plot and the meat is in the backstories of the characters – and what is at stake in this trial. I am not going to narrative spoil.
As they enter and exit the stage space, the actors shift the props. This is brilliantly executed. Kudos to Amber as director in the seamless seguing from scene to scene. The lighting is stark and strident and has the effect of spotlighting each protagonist in the glare of the limelight. The striking set has the scales of justice in the centre, with furniture, flanked by banners, printed with the American bill of rights and all of the amendments. The strong production design is heightened prison orange in the wardrobe. I loved the elegant outfit of Kayla van Tonder as Defence Lawyer – wide legged pants and orange top.
Congrats to Emma Amber for venturing into new territory as a writer in Trial and Error –casting her gaze at racial bias and injustice – through the lens of the American justice system. It makes for gripping viewing.
✳ Kayla van Tonder as Defence Lawyer in Trial and Error, written and directed Emma Amber, Baxter Masambe Theatre, Cape Town, September 4-14, 2024. Pic supplied. Related coverage: https://thecaperobyn.co.za/interview-staging-trial-and-error-the-play-by-emma-amber/
