When somebody walks back into a home 18 years after running out of there, you can be sure there’s a good story to unearth.

That’s the starting point for Brothers, a play by Victor Gordon that centres on the small lives of a small family in the nothingness of the rural Eastern Cape in the 1950s.

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The hugely detailed farmhouse set by Karabo Legoabe is wonderful, leaving us believing this impoverished family has just popped out for a moment. But the first to step in is Koot (Gustav Gerdener), for his unwelcome homecoming.

The initial slow movements of Koot are intriguing, as he looks at this and remembers that. Gerdener practically lets us read his thoughts as he stands there wondering why he’s bothered to return to this place that has nothing to offer. His city-style ways and disdain for the family soon have him clashing with his elder brother Ben (Dawid Minnaar). “I have no time for thinking,” Ben replies when Koot taunts him about the possibilities of exploring life beyond his own backyard.

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Ruan Wessels as the young and timid nephew, Willem is lovely, with a stutter and an endearing pliancy to please that you know will do him no good, and Koot quickly shows his nasty side by mocking, and taunting the boy.

The third brother is Jan, a simpleton played beautifully by Drikus Volschenk, who never falters for a moment with his actions in the background, with eyes squeezed tight for prayers, or hands over his ears when his other brothers fight. He gives Jan a dignity that again endears the audience to him.

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Ben is the down-to-earth leader of this tiny clan, looking after his two younger and more vulnerable charges. Minnaar is an endlessly watchable actor, brilliant at his craft and flawless at bringing this intense, frustrated man to vivid life, here with a self-righteous streak and a stubbornness to his ways that we don’t admire. 

With our sympathies going out to Jan and Willem, there’s little left over for Ben, and none at all for Koot, who would sneeringly refuse it anyway. So the emotions of the audience are being well played by the actors and the script, giving us a vested interest in the story that lesser actors wouldn’t achieve. Then a policeman comes to tell Ben – perhaps inevitably – that Koot is on the run, which rips open the wounds and lets the confrontations fly. 

Gordon’s script, the scenery and the actors paint a thorough picture of a family living off a harsh, and unyielding land. 

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The lighting by Kosie Smit is atmospheric as well as perfectly timed, switching from dusk to dawn as the days unfold. “This is a place where people are dying slowly,” Koot sneers, and he’s right, but they’re trapped and see no other future.

Brothers is a small play, in some senses, telling the story of just one family, but it’s done so well that each character has an effect on us and their story is one we want to hear.  

Director Francois Jacobs ensures that every movement and every moment is well thought out, with no superfluous action to match a script with no superfluous dialogue. 

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Jacobs is making his directing debut under the mentorship of actor and director, Mncedisi Shabangu. Brothers is part of the Market Theatre’s Incubation Programme with a grant from the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, so six other young theatre designers are also being mentored by experienced professionals in a play with a live run. This is a production they can be proud of. DM

Brothers runs at the Market Theatre until 23 February 2020. Tickets from Ticketweb.

Photos: Thandile Zwelibanzi