Based on the book of the same name, the theatre version of ‘Shirley, Goodness and Mercy’ has been adapted by director Janice Honeyman to capture Van Wyk’s love of storytelling and the wonder of a child’s inquisitive mind in stifling and oppressive circumstances.

The play is a collection of Van Wyk’s memories about his family, the people of Riverlea, his love affair with literature, the uncertain identity of the ‘coloured’ person and his understanding of and eventual opposition to apartheid.

Littered with Van Wyk’s poetry, this ‘live’ memoir is at times lyrically beautiful, at times hilariously funny and at times starkly revealing.

The story is narrated by a middle-aged Chris (Zane Meas), who shares the stage with the other characters including a young Chris (Christo Davids). As young Chris grows up from a child of four to a young man in his early twenties, the two seem to move closer together — in appearance and narration — until eventually the ‘young’ Chris is replaced by the older Chris.

Zane Meas, of Isidingo and 7de Laan fame, puts in a solid performance as the older Chris, but the actor who most deserves commendation is Christo Davids. Moving with ease from a young child of four to an awkward teen and a troubled young man, Davids embodies the curiosity and spontaneity of a child, the stumbling inquisitiveness of an adolescent and the new-found maturity of a young man.

The cast of supporting actors flesh out the narrative and give life to Van Wyk’s vibrant characters. Andre Samuels captures Chris’s father’s growing dissolution with his circumstances perfectly. Lee-Ann van Rooi is wonderful as Chris’s laughter-filled mother and champion and Ivan Abrahams and Celeste Matthews slip easily into the skins of a collection of quirky elder characters.

There were moments when the acting and the momentum of the play faltered and the performances by Chris’s ‘younger brothers’ did occasionally seem a little forced and ostentatious. However, on the whole, the performances were dynamic and captivating.

The play provides invaluable insight into the complex fabric of society in apartheid South Africa. It is also captures the magic of storytelling and poetry and gives you a glimpse into the life of one of South Africa’s most respected writers. You are not likely to be disappointed by this honest and entertaining account of growing up.