Review: MOFFIE at Baxter Flipside Is a Scathing Commentary on the Violence of Toxic Masculinity

It is difficult to articulate just how profound of an impact MOFFIE will undoubtedly have on anyone who has the privilege of seeing it. From the outset you must know: it will devastate you, disgust you, anger you, disturb you and destroy you. But it will also amaze you, uplift you, inspire you and move you beyond words.

MOFFIE tells the heart-rending story of Nicholas van der Swart, a young, gay seventeen-year-old boy conscripted into, what was, the South African Defence Force during the apartheid “rooi gevaar” panic. The production artfully moves through time, flipping between Nick’s childhood and teenage years and his experiences during his time in the SADF.

Presented by The Common Humanity Arts Trust in association with The Baxter, MOFFIE has been adapted for the stage by Philip Rademeyer. Based on the (semi-autobiographical) novel by André Carl van der Merwe and directed by Greg Karvellas, this production stands out as one of the most powerful plays that I have viewed this year.

Viviers is sensational. He portrays our protagonist, Nick, with empathy, nuance, care and subtlety. Viviers’ ability to shift from Nick, to his friends and fellow conscripts, to his tyrannical father, to his cruel superiors in the military, is incredible. With the slightest of changes in facial expressions, we immediately know when he has shifted to a different character. His ability to portray entire conversations, continuously switching between both (or sometimes various) characters is astounding. This is a performance of a lifetime. Indeed, Viviers does not merely deliver his lines; he becomes Nick.

From the second the show begins, Viviers builds the tension, the dread and the horror. Nick’s constant fear of being found out, the “don’t ask don’t tell” mentality, the never-ending abuse from his superiors in the army is harrowing (never mind the terror of being forced into the military at the young age of seventeen). I don’t think that I properly exhaled until the full 85 minutes, which sped by, had come to an end.

Be warned: the description of violence is not for the fainthearted. The horrors described invade the imagination with nightmarish imagery that I have scarcely been able to get out of my head since. And yet we must remember. It is this very kind of violence (beyond that inflicted onto the manufactured enemy) inflicted onto the psyches of these boys (for they were only boys) that we must expose, critique and continue to undo – the toxic masculinity moulded, reproduced and sent out into the world packaged as “men”. Indeed, this production is a stark reminder that we are not beyond wars and violence inflicted on both the body and the mind and forces us to confront the horror and the violence that continues.

The set is simple, ominous and suggestive – perfect: military-issue duffle bags, piled on top of each other. Niall Griffin’s excellent set, lighting, AV and costume design always serve the narrative. The piles of duffel bags become what we need them to in different sections of the dialogue. Griffin’s lighting is spectacular – for example Nick experiences a raid. The lights move like those of a chopper or search lights. This totally transported me right into the chaos of combat.

Likewise, Charl-Johan Lingenfelder’s sound design is sensational. From the subtle sound of the clinking of cutlery and crockery evoking a tense family dinner to the intense and discombobulating bedlam of a raid, Lingenfelder’s soundscape is a key element of the show.

MOFFIE is a deeply relevant production. Its commentary on (untreated) trauma, toxic masculinity, abuse, sexual assault and the culture of silence and violence is profoundly important. These issues must continuously be brought to light.

I still feel as though I have not been able to capture the essence of this production in words, so I will end with this observation: After Viviers delivered his final line, it took a good while for the applause to start – not because the audience members was unimpressed but because we were too awestruck by the beauty and the devastation evoked on stage to process that the production had ended. See for yourself.

Moffie runs until 27 September 2025 at the Baxter Flipside. Tickets range from R150 to R240, and are available via Webtickets.

Rating Information: PG 16 Mature themes including bigotry, violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and suicide. Run Time: 85 minutes (no interval).