ATHOL Fugard's two-hander, first seen in Johannesburg in 1995, is more interesting on a metaphorical level than on the surface. Ostensibly it's about Veronica, a young woman approaching adulthood, as her grandfather and guardian approaches old age. She desires freedom and escape, the big city and a singing career. He desires stability and stasis, the land he grew up on, and her continued company.
The conflict is a familiar one. Without it, there would be no Romeo and Juliet, and no rock'n'roll. Those we nurture will reject us, just as we did our parents.
In these terms, Valley Song is a slight piece of work, much as you might find its delicacy and tenderness appealing. But Fugard's long history as South Africa's leading theatrical critic of apartheid means his play is more than it seems. Veronica's dreams of television stardom are a nation's dreams of liberation. Her grandfather's pleas for compromise and restraint are the reactionary cries of those afraid of the unknown face of change.
It's a meditation on the importance of idealism, on the need to pursue our convictions, on not making yourself a slave to what Augusto Boal would call the ''cops inside your head''. And you don't need to live in South Africa to know that change is an aspect of life we can't avoid.
Natalie Wilson's production for 7:84 is neat, polite and uncluttered, drawing calm performances from a stoic Thane Bettany, and a fresh-faced Wendy Baxter, backed by David Young's equally well-mannered acoustic guitar. It's all pleasant enough, but surely a play that works better as a metaphor than the real thing has its priorities misplaced.
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