Hostage

Cerise Gelder places her five strongly drawn characters into the pressured situation of being held hostage during a bank robbery with the threat of imminent death to explore relationships, personal intersections and the secrets which can be lived with but are of such importance they need to be revealed before death.

Each character faces their fears, shares their secrets, finds the importance of the others and, until there are just two left, is taken off to face death. The final two engage the robbers and capture one. This leads to the final denouement with a semi-happy ending.

The work of the ensemble of bank employees, Charmaine Gorman, Natasha Broadstock, Del Jordan, Cosima Gilbert and Ruth Katerelos, and bank robber, Marli Van Der Bijl is an exemplar of tight interactions, character delineation, timing, use of space and expression of emotion.

The play is staged simply in a storeroom with storage boxes providing the backdrop and two boxes of paper which are used as seats and a place to stand. The sound effects add to the tension which builds effectively.

The device of full blackout and music when a person is taken out by the robbers and the following reveal of who has been taken is very involving.

The writing, direction and realisation of this play asks the audience to question the human capacity for connection, bravery and duplicity.

Ruth Richter

Photographer: Clare Mendes