History, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll in Craig Higginson's 'Little Foot'

In his programme notes for Little Foot, playwright Craig Higginson observes that there is a gap in the South African theatrical market for young adults. Indeed it's true that though there are a multitude of theatre productions aimed at children and adults, none capture the daunting personal and academic challenges which come with the territory of being a teenager. Though Higginson's latest play Little Foot  has slight flaws, it is still an interesting and accessible production which is a step in the right direction for the development of young adult theatre.

Set in present-day South Africa, Little Foot tells the story of a group of young, university-going friends who come together, a year after they last saw each other, to take a journey through the network of caves at the Cradle of Mankind. Each member of this group has a particular issue with Wizard (Dylan Nicol Horley), the group's ring leader, who joins the party with his British girlfriend, Rebecca (Phumzile Sitole). Influenced by their joint anger towards him, Coco (Jenna Dunster), Braai (Khayelihle Dominique Gumede) and Moby (Glen Biderman Pam) conspire to play a prank on Wizard which will inevitably end in tragedy. As the action of the play evolves, it is intercut with the physical enactment of the story of Little Foot (Mlondolozi Bradley Zondi), a three-million year old hominin which was discovered in the caves and, according to the show's press release, is now in the process of having its calcified bones extracted from the caves after a thirteen- year effort. The enactment of this narrative acts as a parallel to the show's contemporary narrative, commenting on how the development of our modern identities consistently intersects with the urges and behaviours of the primal identities which have preceded us.

Little Foot's greatest asset is its visual flair. Particularly in the scenes where the Little Foot plot is enacted, Neil Coppen's stage design is inventive and captivating, as are the soil coloured masks he has created for the hominins. Zondi and his fellow chorus members do a striking job as the union between the masks and their creative physicality creates a spell-binding energy on the stage. In truth it's quite a risk to merge this narrative with the contemporary  narrative and had the play been conceptualized differently, the combination may have seemed a bit jarring. Yet through Higginson's fanciful writing and director Malcolm Purkey's clever direction, the two narratives complement and merge with one another seamlessly. Theatre buffs will enjoy watching how the Greek tragedy model is reshaped to be both contemporary and distinctly South African, as well as visually stimulating.

 The feel of the production would be more effective, however, if the play was performed in a smaller space. As it stands Little Foot is being performed at the Market Theatre's Main Theatre which is a large and all-encompassing venue. It makes us feel somewhat distant from the play's action when the intimacy of its two narratives require us to be part of it. The success of 3-D movies, particularly for teenage audiences, is attributed to the fact that they pull viewers into the cinematic world, allowing them to experience this world directly through the characters' eyes. Little Foot could have benefited from a similar experience. Had the play been performed in the smaller space of either the Barney Simon Theatre or the Laager Theatre this effect would have been achieved, particularly if the audience seating was arranged to circle the stage. Utilizing this technique would have pulled us directly into the realities of the cave.

In terms of the play's contemporary narrative, Higginson does a great job at ensuring that that the interactions between the main characters remain sharp and witty. They are also certainly likable and interesting. Yet, by the end of the play, it feels like there's so much more that still needs to be explored with these characters. For instance, throughout the play, we learn very little about Rebecca. Obviously holding back information about characters can be an effective technique  but in this case it feels like the omitted information could have actually helped facilitate an even more dynamic narrative. On this note, the play's ending is also a bit too ambiguous, leaving us with far too many unanswered questions. Again, though ambiguous endings can work to a play's advantage, I think Little Foot's target audience would have appreciated an ending which tied up the narrative's loose ends a bit more.

Despite these flaws, Little Foot remains and exciting and innovative production. If it is indeed able to draw teenage audiences away from computer games and Twilight then it's done a fantastic job.

.  *Little Foot is now on at The Market Theatre until 19 August

Source for photo: http://markettheatre.co.za/shows/watch/little-foot