Exploring an ‘Island’ of Injustice : Ensemble Theatre Hopes Fugard’s Work Will Get Audiences Thinking About Race Relations

The island in Athol Fugard’s “The Island” is a prison in South Africa, a depraved place where upstart blacks are sent when their politics become too much for the white establishment.

Robben Island is a pit, and through Fugard’s play, we meet two men thrown into it. John is probably there for life. Winston may have a shorter sentence, if his appeal is miraculously honored.

“The Island,” as is customary with Fugard, is about the historical injustice of apartheid, especially its human toll.

“This drama makes the statement that you have a people who are basically imprisoned in their own country; they don’t have a true voice,” said Roosevelt Blankenship Jr., who is directing and starring in the play for the Ensemble Theatre, the storefront playhouse he runs in Orange.

“If they do speak out, the law comes down on them so strictly, with such cruelty. It’s (a country) that tests everybody’s will.”

The play, which opens tonight, centers on the relationship between John, who has settled into his exile with a survivor’s spirit, and the younger Winston, who refuses to go gently into his.

They battle, bicker, joke and try to help each other because they’re all they have. When it looks as if Winston may be released, John must face what life will be without him.

While preparing for that, the two men do the most unlikely of things: they rehearse the trial scene from “Antigone,” which John interprets as the perfect metaphor for their own plight.

Sophocles’ persecuted heroine, he believes, represents what they’ve endured. John is determined to make his point in the bizarre prison talent show they’re a part of.

“To me, one of the most intriguing things about ‘The Island’ is the comparison the author makes to Antigone,” said Blankenship, who also performs in the role of Winston (Mellow Martin plays John).

“She was basically put to a living death by (being placed) a prison of isolation. Political prisoners in South Africa are given the same treatment. They are forced to give up the things that they love for what they believe in.”

The “Antigone” scenes are what give “The Island” both weight and humor, noted Blankenship. There’s a Laurel-and-Hardy (or maybe Vladimir-and-Estragon, from Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”) chemistry between the prisoners, especially as the raging, prideful Winston must dress in clumsy drag to take on the role of King Creon’s doomed niece.

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It’s this humor that Blankenship hopes will help draw an audience. He realizes that many potential theatergoers may be put off by the fact that this is a Fugard play, one with uncompromising opinions and in-your-face dramatics.

“Generally, when you’re dealing with a subject like apartheid, some people will see it only as political subject matter that might be boring,” Blankenship explained. “But it is entertaining and we approach it as being (both insightful) and entertaining.”

He added that bringing out the humor is particularly important in Orange County, where exposure to Fugard is rare, especially at such community-oriented theaters as the Ensemble.

“It does surprise me that more Fugard isn’t done around here, just because the message is so important,” said Blankenship. “I mean, we should often be reminded about what’s going on in South Arica (and by extension) consider race relations in our own country.”

“The Island,” written in 1973, has been applauded in the past. A 1991 production in Washington was described by the Washington Post as “a riveting mix of invective and poetry--(Fugard) gives voice to the pair’s individual and collective frustrations.”

That kind of praise impressed Blankenship, and he knew the play was right for his company, which hasn’t been shy about taking chances.

In 1990, it staged “A Streetcar Named Desire” with black actors in the roles of Stanley and Mitch and white actresses as Blanche and Stella. The production didn’t get many good reviews, but it did get plenty of media attention.

“Yes, I think we do like to be provocative, maybe a little on the edge, but not too much,” Blankenship said. “What we really want to do is create theater that will appeal to not just black audiences or white audiences, but to the masses.”

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Blankenship added that this won’t be the Ensemble’s only attempt at Fugard. There are plans to stage “Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act,” which focuses on a love affair between a black schoolteacher and a white librarian, sometime next year.

“We originally planned (to do it in place of) ‘The Island,’ but we needed more rehearsal time to get it, especially (the woman’s) role, just right,” he said. “Because it deals with something so controversial, we have to develop the characters just so.”

* The Ensemble Theatre’s production of Athol Fugard’s “The Island” opens tonight at 8 p.m. at 844 E. Lincoln Ave., Orange. Performances continue Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. through Aug. 7. $8 to $25. (714) 998-2199.