Black Mouse, Theatre
Venue: Dicks, Monument Building
Next performance: Saturday 27 June 16:00
Review
By Sayuri Persotham
Black Mouse is a haunting performance of love, grief, and deception. The play redefines the proverbial bogeymen of thriller theatre by framing human nature as the unseen enemy. This begs the question: How do we exorcise the demons that lie within? There are no correct answers – only interpretation. Playwright Alice Viskat weaves her characters into a twisted game of past and present, where action carries consequences. Obscuring the playing field with secrets and lies, Viskat systematically fractures viewers’ sense of judgement.
Actors Bianca Oosthuizen and S’Qhamo Mangcu radiate conviction and intensity in their recreation of the troubled mistress-butler dynamic. Oosthuizen’s portrayal of Jess is larger than life, delineating the realities of trauma and social isolation on a person. Her erratic behaviour and equally absurd disposition captivate the audience. Mangcu’s performance is almost too convincing, as he balances his own agenda against obligation and servitude. His seamless renderings of identity leave viewers wondering: Can you ever truly know someone? Dark lighting and dramatic piano solos complete the drama, with an indefinably sinister atmosphere – viewers can never quite pinpoint what is amiss.
In a wholly immersive performance, audiences felt the wrath of Jess through crumbs of flying food. One unsuspecting viewer had the misfortune of experiencing the business-end of a hurtling glass of water. Gasps and jaw-drops dotted the theatre seats all around. In the spirit of good theatre, all was received with pure delight. Following the grand finale, audience member Thubelihle Mathonsi was moved to tears. She said emphatically, “The show was worth every cent, if not more!”
A lingering ominousness pervades the Black Mouse performance, foregrounding themes of power, trauma, and justice. Rather than offering answers to the eternal struggles of humanity, Viskat leaves viewers to draw their own conclusions. Instead, the play focuses on the fallibility of human nature and how, whether intentional or not, these mistakes etch themselves into the fabric of an individual’s soul.
