THE THREE LITTLE PIGS: BAXTER THEATRE

by Taryn Saunders

In fairy tales and fables, we are told right at the beginning who the hero is, who his friends and allies are, and who is trying to lead him off the path and into the slaughterhouse. But as we know, more than once upon a time in a Justice System not so far, far away, this is not the case at all.

The Three Little Pigs is an Animal Farm-style tale in contemporary South Africa with an intelligent script, sharp acting and plenty of farm puns. Two pigs (police officers) have been brutally and mysteriously murdered. We follow an intense investigation into the case as the last little pig ploughs through bureaucracy, violence, lies and stupidity to find the cause of his brother’s death. The twisted plot comes to an even more twisted end.

The characters, brilliantly performed half animal half humans, are very familiar, especially to a South African audience.  James Cairns, Albert Pretorius and Rob Van Vuuren give focused and detailed performances. Their physical comedy skills are used exceptionally well in characterising the various animal-humans that populate the pigs’ world. One would not be blamed for thinking that they are in fact half-human mutant creatures. The dialogue is machine-gunned at the audience with brutal wit and satire as barbed wire looms over a straw-strewn interrogation room.

In a country populated by spokespeople who ramble like chickens, journalists who pick like vultures on the carcasses of fact and fiction while high-powered wolves run dodgy operations tracked by little pigs, the parallels are more than co-incidental. The Three Little Pigs is one of the best satires on our stages in a long time. It is an important story told in an exceptional way. We never know who the Big Bad Wolf is, where he is, and we’re always afraid.

If George Orwell could comment on the production in a quote from Animal Farm, he’d say:
“There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word-- Man”