Well Played, Well Worn

Planet B is set in a post-apocalyptic South Africa, where Mama Africa, clearly disinterested in playing the hostess with the mostest, makes certain her presence is felt. Water is desperately scarce, weather conditions are extreme, life is every (wo)man for themselves.  In the midst of this, two people find a connection with each other and, in the process, themselves again.

It’s no secret that I’m often sceptical of message theatre. I often find, whilst the heart is there, the art can often be lost in an earnest desire to make ‘meaning’.

There’s no messagey preaching in Planet B, though. In fact, eco issues provide the backdrop, but hardly the heart, of this play. Slowly, though, through careful interactions and cunning narrative, we see how human selfishness begets more suffering. How living eco-consciously can be done on the tightest means. How generosity of spirit can impact a world greater than just one’s own.

Now that’s clever consciousness.

Planet B provides carefully crafted theatre with some beautiful visual elements. The set, for instance, is a magical assemblage of salvaged canvas structures and spare parts. It somehow manages to be both crazy futuristic contraption and cosy homestead, with inventive ‘green’ solutions to all life’s necessities (not sparing the proverbial kitchen sink). Infinitely adaptable, it becomes by turn a life pod, a cave, a makeshift stage and a sailboat, proving that the extraordinary always lies behind the everyday, if we only have the creativity to unlock it.

This Well Worn Theatre production is well worth a look, whether you’re a greenie theatre buff or a regular Joe(anne).