Directed by Toni Morkel, Firefly is a whimsical, enthralling theatre production which brings its audience straight into the heart of a moving story of two lovers who secretly meet by moonlight, suffocated by circumstances which forbid them from ever being together.
Pictured above are Andrew Buckland and Sylvaine Strike, the lead actors in the play, Firefly. “We’ve worked together for eight years,” said Buckland. “We wanted to make a show. We’d been speaking about it for a long time – about people who love each other but can’t be together.” Buckland emphasised the significance of their conversation being shadowed by a blood moon – a lunar phenomenon which coincidentally occurred again on the night of the show’s Stellenbosch debut. PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
The 75-minute play made its Woordfees stage debut at Stellenbosch High School on 10 October, according to Sylvaine Strike, the lead actress and one of only two performers in the play.
“We’ve made it full circle to where it should have opened, but never opened,” said Strike, explaining that the production was due to open during a previous Woordfees. The show was then adapted for television due to Covid-19 restrictions.
“And now it’s finally been born,” said Strike. “By the light of two blood moons,” added Andrew Buckland, the lead actor of the pair.
Expert execution
With limited props – essentially three stools, sunglasses, some pebbles, the moon, and two coats – Buckland and Strike delivered an emotive and immersive performance.
Playing three characters each, thus six characters in total, each persona was delivered with both masterful individuality and humour.
“The challenge was in making sure that each of our three characters were distinctly separate,” said Strike. “Defining each of those characters, and being very loyal to them, and their integrity, completely and not half-baked.”
Commanding the space, both Buckland and Strike used just their bodies and voices to paint a vibrant visual narrative for the audience.
“It’s been an incredible honour to work alongside Sylvaine, Andrew and Tony,” said Toni Morkel, the director of Firefly. “They are all masters of their craft.” Morkel added that Firefly is the first “mainstream” show that she’s directed, and so for her, it has been both a tremendously significant and enjoyable experience. PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
Among many other things, the pair enacted a wobbly rope bridge, the enthusiastic opening (and consumption) of numerous bottles of vodka, an endless black hole (made real with hilarious manual echoing), and an unfortunate man being shot from a cannon.
Music, movement and moonlight
Throughout the play’s duration,Tony Bentel’s live piano performance was arguably as responsible for bringing the play to life as the expressive performances of Buckland and Strike.
The score, as described by Bentel, was largely very literal, pertaining to specific moments and emotions as they were experienced by each of the characters.
The entirety of the production Firefly was accompanied by the live musical performance of Tony Bentel, pictured above. While Bentel said that he did not compose the entire score, he was responsible for the musical arrangement and some original music. PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
“The two of them dancing the tango in the river is a high point for me,” said Buckland. “And it was also one of the most challenging [things] to get right.”
Accompanied in part by comedic actions, sound effects, whistling, and beautiful vocals by Buckland and Strike, the score drove the narrative further by allowing the play’s characters to attribute their actions to many a romantic melody.
In the absence of dialogue, it was the score which propelled the narrative forward.
This was particularly stark in the closing scene of the play, in which the main characters’ reluctant, and heart-wrenching final separation is narrated only by solemn song, and the light of a lonesome full moon.
Firefly was performed at Stellenbosch High School again on 11 October at 18:00 and 21:00.