Playland
“Character actors Lou Ferguson and Francis Guinan create a riveting dark atmosphere as they portray a black night watchman and a retired Afrikaner soldier who have a chance meeting at a Johannesburg amusement park on a lonely New Year’s Eve. Recorded live at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the L.A. Theatre Works production secures the rapt silence of the audience as the two men compare and one-up each other with stories of their sordid and violent pasts. Written in 1993 on the eve of South Africa’s first fully integrated elections, Fugard’s play leaves the listener with a sense of hope — a hope that, in this rare historic case, came to fruition.”
AudioFile
Set in a South African traveling amusement park on New Year’s Eve, Athol Fugard’s Playland explores the possibilities for blacks and whites to find understanding in a racially divided world. A volatile dialogue begins when two men—a former soldier and a night watchman—delve into their sordid pasts.
A Steppenwolf Theatre Company production. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast recording starring Lou Ferguson, Francis Guinan, and Paul Sandberg. Directed by Nan Withers-Wilson. Recorded before a live audience by L.A. Theatre Works.
Praise