Painting a Wall *** TNT
Here’s a play that certainly lives up to what it says on the tin.
The wall in question starts off bare and ends up the colour of pistachio ice-cream. It should have been white, but the four “Cape Coloured” workmen have been given the wrong paint and, as Samson sees it, they’re just obeying orders so they might as well carry out the pointless job, then get paid all over again for putting things right.
South African born, London-based David Lan’s first play (written when he was 22 and first performed in 1974) lasts just over an hour and in that time succeeds in revealing something of the frustration felt by this quartet of various ages under the shamefully repressive laws of apartheid.
Middle-aged Henry doggedly turns up to work even though his daughter died that morning; taciturn young Peter is only allowed to stir and pour, and Samson, mindful of the family he has to support, buries his anger and gets on with the job until, pushed just that bit too far by bolshie workmate Willy, he uncharacteristically vents his rage on the wrong person.
Though more an extended sketch than a complete play, it proves far more rewarding than watching the proverbial paint dry. True, the production occasionally lacks pace (and the wall, limited in size by the tiny playing area, could be finished in half the time).
But the futility of their work, and the restrictions imposed upon them by lack of education and opportunity are convincingly conveyed by a strong cast in which Howard Charles particularly impresses as the defiant Willy.
Finborough, Finborough Road, SW10 9ED. Earl’s Court Tube (0844 847 1652) till 6th June (£9 - £13)
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