'Master Harold' gives hope for end of racism in South Africa

One word comes to mind after reflecting upon a night of kite-flying memories, ballroom-dancing dreams and the spectacle of a "black ass" mooning the audience center-stage: "Hope" -- for the worldwide human race in combating racism and racial discrimination.\n"'Master Harold' ... and the boys," written by South African playwright Athol Fugard and directed by theatre professor Murray McGibbon, presents an autobiographical snapshot of family life and social relationships within the confines of apartheid-legislated society in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The IU theatre department has produced a must-see play for all campus and Bloomington community members, regardless of race or creed.\nAs the houselights dim and the stage lights turn on, the audience is introduced to two servants closing shop inside of St. George's Park Tea Room. Sam, played by graduate student Carmund T. White, and Willie, played by Bloomington resident Andy Alphonse, briefly discuss an upcoming ballroom dancing competition they are preparing to participate in. \nScenic designer Christopher J. Sinnott's set, his graduate thesis project, truly establishes a rainy-day tone to support the brewing tension playing before the audience. St. George's Park Tea Room interior mirrored a 1950s jukebox soda shop blended into a modern coffeehouse aesthetic, complete with a checkered-tile floor and old-fashioned cash register.\nA rain curtain hung above the stage drips water throughout the first and last third of the play and provides a realistic raining sound. Backlit tree silhouettes further contribute to a spectacular scene of a darkened, storm-raged sky provided by graduate student and lighting designer Ryan Davies.\nFrom the moment Master Harold, or "Hally," played by graduate student Tom Connor, enters the scene, both Sam and Willie are relegated to secondary characters dependent upon Hally for dramatic interactions. The audience is allowed to witness Hally coping with his father's racist socialization, a bigot suffering from a disabling sickness, although they are never introduced to him. \nThe portrayal of Hally is at its best when the audience is given clear vocal inflections despite the South African accent. Too often, however, the audience heard a monotone yell at three predominate volumes -- loud, louder and screaming. The role of Hally seemed to require tremendous energy to generate multiple emotions; to this effect, Connor did a tremendous job provoking audience alienation, since his character is designed as the antagonist.\nIn part because Willie spends the first half of the play scrubbing the floor, on his knees and in bare feet, Willie's role provided desperately needed comic relief during otherwise heated dialogue. Alphonse seemed to invite the audience into the action along with his character, highlighted by moments of ballroom dancing practice.\nWhite's enthusiasm playing Sam and his patience in dealing with troublesome moments, such as Hally spitting in his face, seemed to spotlight the significant plight and problematic issues facing black men and women forced into servitude under apartheid rule.\nWhite's effectiveness in playing Sam also enables the audience to perceive Willie and Sam as the protagonists despite the legality of the social circumstances they are subjected to. \nProfanity, threats of violence and heated themes of social equality permeate throughout the play in between moments of kite-flying memories and ballroom dancing. Fugard seems to invite the audience to bridge the racial discrimination gap by forcing empathy upon black men standing face-to-face with their young white master.\nMcGibbon's brilliant direction seemed apparent in the play's pace and audience effect, which resulted in a prolonged ovation from a seemingly enthralled crowd. On the other hand, the enthusiastic reception may have resulted from the audience's willingness to breathe easy again after having spent a night exposed to racist social themes and bigoted character action.\nIn the end of the play, Willie spends his bus money on a song from the jukebox so he and Sam can dance the play to darkness. Although racial discrimination still exists in the tea shop since they are still regulated to servitude, Sam and Willie invite the audience to feel hope for future social constructions involving race and the role of race in subjective human perceptions.\nRegardless of whether Sam and Willie discover their dream of social equality on the ballroom dance floor, the success of "Master Harold" lies in the dialogue and the images the dialogue creates in the minds of the audience -- maybe none more important than Hally flying his kite alone because Sam is not allowed to sit on an "all-white" bench.\n"It's not a white world anymore, Master Harold," Sam said.