By BRUCE DENNILL
Beauty In The Broken / Directed by Maralin Vanrenen / Theatre On The Square, Sandton, Johannesburg
Gaynor Young is a byword for two things in South African theatre: tragedy (when considering the horrific fall into an open pit on the State Theatre stage during a performance of Camelot in 1989) and resilience (for the courage and intent she has shown in finding a way to not only survive her multiple injuries and the deafness that was a parallel result of the fall, but to also continue performing).
Beauty In The Broken is the third one-woman show Young has starred in since the accident and it continues a story begun in those productions. Director Maralin Vanrenen has created a strong structure, in both the performance and the set, to help Young navigate a full-length script. A reproduced sitting room, with a couch in the centre, a smaller chair on one side and a table and chair on the opposite side, gives the actress space and reason to move around and to stand and sit, adding variety and movement to what is essentially a long monologue.
Young is a vibrant, cheerful presence as she strides onto stage in a colourful outfit that matches the mood of an enthusiastic audience. Her disabilities are an unavoidable focus of the narrative, but in the most positive way possible, with the relative ease with which Young navigates creative tasks that are a challenge for every performer – reams of lines, regular marks to hit, consistent engagement with the audience, comic timing and more – underlining that while challenges are common to everyone, coming out the other side with grit and grace is that much more impressive when the obstructions have been as brutal as they have for Young.
Sweet, light anecdotes are balanced with arresting candour about dark periods in which alcohol – theoretical medicine for loneliness – created damaging emotional spirals as well as interactions that confirmed the love and support available for Young as she sought to find her way. This honesty alone would drive a moving and worthwhile stage performance, which Young as a performer knows well, leaning into that aspect of the script rather than he heartbreaking backstory.
The shadow of her injuries never quite fades, with the occasional prompt from Erin Blieden, lurking in the wings, keeping things going when the next line simply won’t surface in Young’s brain. Here again, the performer’s positive poise means this feels natural and fun – “There’s an angel on my shoulder who tells me what to say,” she quips – and keeps the piece flowing.
Beauty In The Broken is soul food, an appealing story that also speaks to the most profound reasons storytelling and theatre make audiences feel. The show’s title could not be more apt.