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Family drama uncovers truth
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
Hampstead Theatre
NOTHING but the truth is advertised as a play about apartheid but at its heart it is a family drama and a very good one at that.
Apartheid and the state of affairs in South Africa at the turn of the millennium are prominent but the play works best when it concentrates on its three characters and their relationships and conflicts.
The characters are Sipho Makhaya, played by the writer John Kani, his daughter Thando (Motsabi Tyelele) and his English niece Mandisa Mackay (Rosie Motene).
Sipho is an intelligent South African black man who has never been allowed to raise above assistant library chief.
His exiled younger brother has just died and is being brought back to South Africa by Mandisa to be buried. The fact that he has been cremated is just the first of many differences the trio have to reconcile with each others cultures. But the real drama resides in Sipho’s deep-seated resentment of his brother, who was a political activist forced to flee the country. Throughout the play Sipho’s motivations become clear. This is expertly done, due mainly to the subtly powerful performance from Kani. His portrayal of a man breaking out of his life gives the play real power, particularly in the final act when things come to a head.
The play is by no means faultless though. When it tries to deal with the larger subjects it comes across as preachy and the exposition is clumsily put across. If it had stayed within the confines of the family dynamic it would have been much more successful.
Also Motene, while feisty and energetic when arguing and bonding with her cousin, fails to give the emotional scenes the drama they deserve.
Nevertheless this is an intelligent play with a lot more to say than your usual fare and while the resolution comes a little too easily the drama lingers long after.
Until March 7
0207 722 9301
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