On a Sunday evening, an hour before the Virgin Active gym closes, a woman jogs determinedly on a treadmill. But very soon it becomes clear that this Sunday evening jog is far more than a simple exercise session ...
Nicola Hanekom plays a 34-year-old woman dealing with life as it hits her square in the face. This woman’s past is a burden not so easily shaken off. There is nothing uncomplicated about her life: she has issues with her weight and her appearance, her mother’s complicated death haunts her, her apparent lover is behind bars in Pollsmoor and she must constantly deal with the pressure and stress of financial responsibility.
But as this well-built woman runs and rants, a sure universality unfolds. Which woman has never struggled with her image? Or had her heart broken? Or had some kind of obsession or fixation? Running on empty illustrates the version of ourselves which we allow the world to see. But Hanekom’s character admits she’s running from the “stuffed up, fucked up, lunatic me”. She asks questions about life, about God, about food. But comic relief is provided by scattered random questions arising from her stream of consciousness, like: Why don’t we eat dogs in South Africa, but we love hot dogs? Do chameleons have teeth?
Hanekom hits the bullseye with the themes she addresses in this play. Her character struggles with issues women in the 21st century face. Eating disorders are explicitly illustrated and placed in the context of a woman in need of controlling something because her personal life is falling apart. The storyline has an unexpected twist, which is perfectly timed in the arc of this production.
The entire set consists of a blown-up photo of well-built, sweaty bodies as a backdrop and a treadmill in the middle of the stage. Fred Abrahamse and Nicola Hanekom have created a very honest, scarily-close-to-home production for the contemporary 21st-century woman. And it is phenomenal to watch Hanekom running on a treadmill and performing simultaneously for more than an hour!
Running on Empty is showing every day of the National Arts festival at 12:30 in the Gymnasium Hall. Tickets R60/R50/R30. Book through Computicket.