The Syringa Tree The Syringa Tree“Tour de force” may be one of the more over-used phrases in the critic’s lexicon, but I haven’t used it in living memory and in any case it’s a fitting description of the one-woman play The Syringa Tree. So are “thought provoking”, “powerfully theatrical”, “moving” and lots of other typically critical superlatives. It’s just that kind of show.
Originally created in 1996 as an acting exercise by actress and playwright Pamela Gien, and performed by her to great acclaim in London, The Syringa Tree is a largely autobiographical drama about the intertwined lives of two South African families, from the early 1960s to the present. The titular tree grows in the yard of young Lizzie – a yard she shares with her parents, her brother George, and the family’s native African servants. One of those servants, the warmly maternal Salamina, gives birth to a daughter – Moliseng. Because the child lacks the identity papers so vital in South Africa’s rigid apartheid police state, her arrival sets in motion events that will throw both her family and Lizzie’s into crisis.
Spanning over four decades of history and four generations, The Syringa Tree is a powerful story of love, loss and redemption populated with over a dozen vividly drawn characters - all played by one actress; hence that over-used phrase at the beginning of this review. On opening night that one remarkably versatile actress was Stephanie Cozart, who alternates in the role with Shannon Koob. During the play’s 100 minute running time, Cozart switches characters with a speed and facility that is all the more impressive because it doesn’t try it impress; it simply serves the richly-imagined script very well. Lizzie, her unconventional parents, the loving Moliseng, the smugly bigoted Afrikaans neighbors, elderly servants, a young policeman – they all spring to life as though performed by a cast of many rather than one.
Assisting in this neat conjuring trick is sound designer Chuck Hatcher, with an elaborate assortment of music and environmental sound. From the gentle sounds of birds to a brutal police beating and the Soweto riots to the mundane murmur of an airline departure lounge, Hatcher underscores and amplifies Gien’s words and Cozart’s acting. Kudos as well to Narelle Sissons for a set design the captures the parched earth and rocks of South Africa, to James Sale for his atmospheric lighting and to director Michael Haney for brining it all together so smoothly.
The Syringa Tree runs through April 19th [2003] in the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis studio; call 314-968-4925 for tickets.