Moby Dick

Adapted and Directed by Mark Fleishman
Movement Direction: Jennie Reznek
Set design: Nadya Cohen
Masks and heads: Adrian Kohler (Handspring Puppet Company)
Performed by: Nicholas Ashby, Jamie Bartlett, Leslie Fong, Anna-Mart van der Merwe

The text for this adaption of Herman Mellville’s novel was developed with the actors at the Market Laboratory.
Together we searched for an imaginative theatrical form that could in some ways capture the essence of Moby Dick; that could meld the grand and gothic language of the novel with a rich physical imagery. We asked the question – where are the women when the ship sails? So we introduced a female character – an Everywoman. A woman left behind, at home, waiting, hoping; but she is also in the minds of the men, in their thoughts, their letters, their dreams.

“This production… is a true synthesis of techniques. Fleishman blends all the elements at his disposal into a powerfully evocative whole… . Jamie Bartlett is brilliant as the one-legged Ahab… . Leslie Fong’s wholesome Starbuck is suberb… . Whale and water are transformed by exciting theatricality.”
Nushin Elahi, The Citizen

“Moby Dick is a triumph of the unique power of the theatre to suggest and inspire – and tell a story through polished performances and innovative direction which completely involves the audience in the creative process.”
Jenny Dowthwaite, The StarTonight

(Magnet Theatre) The Laager, Market Theatre, Johannesburg