BLONDE POISON. Director: Fred Abrahamse. Cast: Fiona Ramsay. Baxter Studio,
BEVERLEY BROMMERT reviews
This taut one-hander by dramatist Gail Louw explores the less-than-edifying response to multiple pressures of fear, pain and the threat to loved ones, when all can be neutralised through moral compromise.
Such was the position in which the 20-year-old blonde, Aryan-featured Jewess Stella Goldschlag found herself as her community was increasingly victimised, dispossessed, tortured and murdered in the insanity of Germany in 1942…
Her solution? The despicable betrayal of Jews in hiding, in exchange for immunity for herself and her parents from deportation to death camps.
Ironically, this guarantee of immunity proved flimsier than gossamer, but half a century later Goldschlag lives to revisit her chequered past and discover the true cost of her youthful duplicity. Which is what we witness in the 70-minute long monologue of Blonde Poison.
Supremely polished theatre
Sensitively directed by Fred Abrahamse and elegantly costumed in one of Marcel Meyer’s signature couture creations, veteran actress Fiona Ramsay yet again produces a bravura performance. Humorous, arrogant, vulnerable and defiant, she holds her audience spellbound as she takes them on her journey into a murky past.
The austerity of set and unforgiving lighting offer no distractions from the text, beautifully articulated with an unwavering German accent as the speaker glides between past and present.
This is supremely polished theatre that challenges, engrosses and rewards the thoughtful viewer.
What: Blonde Poison
Where and when: Baxter Theatre until 29 June 2024
Book: Webtickets
WS
