The Syringa Tree

It doesn't seem odd to six year old Elizabeth, child of liberal white South Africans, to be playing with black servants and their children, as well as her Afrikaans best friend next door. After all, she knows her parents have the proper papers. She's not really aware of the exact meaning of the harsh reality that sometimes bursts into her safe household.

So hiding people under a bed when they have climbed the Syringa Tree, or going on a night-time hunt for a missing child in the nearby black township are simply adventures. Only much later, when the township's name of Soweto echoes round the world, does she feel a need to escape to a new life.

This whole world of heat, dust, colour, noise, danger and innocence is conjured by Gin Hammond from a black space, empty except for a swing. Her slim figure twists and turns to bring 24 characters to life with nothing except voice and body movement to aid her.

She is at her best as the child Elizabeth, enjoying every moment of life with wide-eyed, serious innocence. Pamela Gien's script is at its happiest in these passages too, particularly in the scenes with her long-suffering mother and her busy doctor father.

The Soweto scenes have an urgency and excitement that the final section with the adult Elizabeth can't match and at 90 minutes it does feel about 15 minutes too long. However, it's easy to forgive that for the skill and sheer humanity of Gin Hammond and for the outstanding drumming of Tom Harding which provides a powerful undertow.