South African master playwright Athol Fugard tells a coming-of-age story as universal as it is specific to his homeland in Valley Songs, the poignant and powerful latest from Long Beach’s International City Theatre.

Set in the village of Nieu-Bethesda shortly after the end of Apartheid (i.e. the mid-1990s and not, as the program suggests, the “present day”), Valley Song introduces us to three characters, two of them “coloured” and one of them white.

The first two are septuagenarian tenant farmer Abraam Jonkers and his seventeen-year-old granddaughter Veronica, and “The Author” himself is the third, not only narrating but playing a major role in the lives of Veronica and her “Oupa.”

Having lost both his daughter and his wife (the former to the big city, where she died giving birth to Veronica, and the latter to age and illness), lifelong farmer “Old Buks” (Michael A. Shepperd), is not about to add his grandchild to the list of those he’s loved and lost.

The last thing Veronica (Belle Guillory) wants, however, is to stay put, not when dreams of a singing career can only be achieved by a move to Johannesburg, and though given the choice she’d much rather go with her Oupa’s blessing, this is something she must do even if it means breaking his heart.

As for The Author (played per Fugard’s instructions by the same actor of color who portrays Old Buks), the Athol Fugard stand-in has grown “sick and tired of the madness and desperate scramble of … life in the make-believe world of theatre,” and would like nothing better than tp buy a bit of land far from the big city and live out the rest of his life in peace with “no more nonsense from actors and producers and critics.”

What The Author hasn’t reckoned with is the effect this might have on Abraam Jonkers, who could soon find himself homeless should the sale take place.

As these three characters interact over the course of Valley Song’s intermissionless ninety-minutes, Fugard explores themes that audiences can identify with no matter their race of country of origin, among them growing up, recovering from past tragedy, moving away, and letting go.

Add to that Valley Song’s specificity of time and place and you have a play that feels at once familiar and new, exquisitely directed for ICT by caryn desai and performed by two gifted actors, one with a long list of credits and awards (including a Performance Of The Year Scenie for ICT’s Fences), and one fresh out of school with a very bright future ahead.

Shepperd is once again a force to be reckoned with as the multifaced Old Buks, tormented by memories and defiantly opposed to change, whether it be Veronica’s moving away or The Author’s purchase of the land he has called home his entire life.

Add to that Shepperd’s distinctively different (in accent, bearing, and manner) The Author, and you have a performance that ranks among his finest.

Guillory makes for the most enchanting of teens opposite her more seasoned costar, giving as good as she gets from Shepperd and performing Veronica’s original songs with crystal clarity.

Scenic designer Yuri Okahana-Benson and lighting designer Crystal R. Shomph have joined creative forces to bring Veronica and her Oupa’s ramshackle abode to vibrant, South African sun-drenched life

Factor in Kimberly DeShazo’s just-right costumes, Dave Mickey’s evocative sound design, and Patty and Gordon Briles’ carefully selected props (including several of the squat white pumpkins Old Buks takes such pride and wonder in cultivating) and you have another striking ICT production design.

Anthony Gagliardi is resident hair and wig designer. Randall Goldberg is music advisor. Yinlin Ma is music coach.

Valley Song is produced for International City Theatre by desai. Sarah Dawn Lowry is production stage manager. Joanna Reyes and Glennis Sposto are assistant stage managers. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

It’s been twenty years since International City Theatre staged Athol Fugard’s chef-d’oeuvre “Master Harold” … and the boys. This superb production of his lesser-known Valley Song makes it well worth a two-decade wait for Athol Fugard’s return to the ICT stage.

International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
www.InternationalCityTheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
August 28, 2022
Photos: Kayte Deioma

Tags: Athol Fugard, International City Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review