Review: ORPHANS at Baxter Theatre Centre Is Powerful, Hilarious, and Heartbreaking

ORPHANS, while originally set in North Philadelphia, is seamlessly transplanted to Woodstock in Cape Town. This production tells the tale of brothers Treat and Phillip, two adult orphans who have lived alone in their house on Gympie Street, since their mother died in their early childhood.

Treat, artfully played by Christian Bennett, as the street-smart, elder sibling, takes on the role of the breadwinner, albeit it via (sometimes violent) crime. The younger brother, Phillip, beautifully portrayed by Christo Davids, suffers from dilapidating anxiety, spending much of his time in the refuge of a cupboard, surrounded by his late mother’s clothing. The siblings’ rhythm is suddenly thrown off by the entrance of a mysterious, wealthy businessman, Harold, played by Abduragman Adams. When Treat decides to hold the older gentleman for ransom, the consequences that result prove more profound than either brother could ever imagine.

This piece, directed by the prolific Christo Davis, captures the nuances of poverty, violence, loss, trauma, and the cycles thereof that are constantly repeated – unless someone has the opportunity to, and decides to, break the chain. This is a deeply moving play, with a lot of heart. All around me, throughout the production, audience members could not help but verbally expressed their reactions to the pathos onstage. Indeed, the New York Times’ description of this piece as ‘theater for the senses and emotions’ is apt.

While this play is, at times, gut wrenching, it is also full of hope and humour. The audience spent a large amount of the play in ab-working hysterics. So much of this production is located in the ordinary, and is, sadly, reflective of South African reality, many households of which are child-headed. However, this play is also absurd, bizarre, and ultimately, hilarious.

With a beautiful set, located in the brothers’ living room, one feels completely submerged in the narrative, where time has seemed to stand still: we might observe adults going about their daily lives but, really, the siblings are lost boys, frozen by unhealed trauma.

One of the many things I love about this production is that none of these characters are one dimensional or caricatures. Indeed, all three are well rounded, fully developed portraits of broken men who are trying their best to survive in an often-brutal world. The transformation of the characters and of their relationships with each other is brilliantly written, directed, and portrayed. I was, and still am, deeply moved.

I have been honoured to see a lot of South African theatre this year; this is one of the highlights.  

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