THEATRE
Shepard’s Curse: a fine balance between hope and desperation
Director Sylvaine Strike staged Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class in Stellenbosch, 40 years to the day after it was first performed on March 2 1978. "I’ve always felt that I completely get him," Strike says about the US playwright, who died in 2017 and whose work is being acknowledged again, with local productions planned. This is Shepard’s most autobiographical work about his father, who features in many of his plays. But this one deals mostly with the little people targeted by the greedy. Curse of the Starving Class circles around a dysfunctional family as their farm collapses. "It’s the perfect nuclear family — a mother, father and two children, a son and a daughter — and they’re completely dysfunctional," says Strike. She staged Molière’s The Miser and Tartuffe recently and moving to Shepard made complete sense to her. She ensures his play is not all about the horrors of hardship — there’s always hope and a smile. Strike makes light of things where she can with movement ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.