An Iliad is op die oog af ’n antieke verhaal oor die Trojaanse oorlog, maar die toneelstuk vra eintlik waarom die mensdom aanhou oorlog voer. Watter idee of tema in die stuk spreek die sterkste tot jou en hoop jy die gehoor sal met hulle saamneem?

There is a remarkable tension within The Poet, a kind of timeless war correspondent who has experienced seemingly every conflict through history and is compelled to “sing” or share his stories of what he has seen and heard. The Poet recognises the horror and futility of war, but also understands how violence and power can overwhelm at times and create an avalanche of almost psychotic behaviour in even the best of us. And that, coupled with the whimsy and erratic chaos that the “gods” create around us, means that humankind is stuck in an endless cycle of conflict and a battle for dominance.

The Poet can only sing about what he has seen to show the audience he is playing to (on that day in that moment), so that they can perhaps shift their perspective. The phrase “You see?” is used numerous times in various ways in the text.

As in all trauma and horror, there are tiny moments and shades of humour, incongruity, immense humanity and areas of grey that suggest that even the most despicable acts have a context. Does it condone the act? Never.

But our world events turn on the most subtle and nuanced of contexts and yet are often reported or judged in the most biased and polarised ways. An Iliad reminds us that the old stories cannot just be discarded. We need to interrogate why we keep living them over and over again.

Jy is as klassieke akteur opgelei, iets wat dalk nie algemeen bekend is aan gehore wat jou hoofsaaklik met komedie vereenselwig nie. Hoe was die reaksie van mense wat deur An Iliad hierdie ander kant van jou teater-identiteit ontdek het? Het jy al ’n bepaalde gehoorreaksie beleef wat jou verras of geraak het?

This is now almost my 12th year of doing theatre roles that are very different from my usual fare of stand-up and farce. By being part of musicals like Little Shop of Horrors and The Producers, operas (The Merry Widow and Die Fledermaus) or taking on dramatic roles in Richard III, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Oleanna, Amadeus, and others, I have tried to curate a career in which I can challenge myself, delight in playing across genres and try some of the great classic plays and roles available.

Live performance of any nature interests me. The fact that stand-up comedy was the way in which I initially built a fan base and a foundation for my creative work is still a joy to me. I get to tell jokes and then, when the acting itch arrives, I get to flex different muscles and play in an ensemble until – inevitably – at some point I need to tell some jokes or pull a silly face again.

The response to An Iliad, though, has been overwhelming. Of course, those who have never seen me doing a dramatic role are surprised, perhaps disorientated, but then relieved when they realise another kind of experience is also possible. And that can be entertaining in its own way.