Success Stands on Dialogue

The Biko Inquest is the first production by this years class of Drama II students. As such it was only a reading and not a fully fledged production so it doesn't really seem fair to say much about the actual quality of performance; although it can't be ignored. The play is constructed from the transcript of the actual inquest, so there is next to no action and a great deal of dialogue. It could easily have been dull and boring. The stark set presented no relief and the onus was well and truly on the actors to make the courtroom come alive and crackle with the conflict of wills. This they did indeed do, and I think it is to their credit. The three security policemen were especially good. They stonewalled their way through the inquest and the actors' faces had the same hardness.