The Road to Mecca by South African playwright Athol Fugard isn't simply an assault on apartheid. It's that of course; but more importantly it's also a critique of the Afrikaner cultural outlook as it appeared to Fugard in 1984 when the play appeared – it's set a decade earlier.

An over-wordy piece, it suffers from slow plot development and character revelation, at least in the first half. After the break, when local clergyman Marius Byleveld (Richard Fyfe), enters proceedings, it speeds up in both respects.

Based on fact, it's about Helen Martins (Sandra Appleton). An extravagant free spirit of an artist, she's scandalising the God-fearing villagers of New Bethesda in the remote Karoo with the eccentric collection of works in her garden. They want her out, and Byleveld turns up to see to it.

But it's a three-cornered contest because Elsa (Laura Chambers) has driven the twelve hours up from Cape Town to see Helen. She's sufficiently anti-Apartheid to be in trouble for it at the school where she teaches.

Considering the difficulties of the script all three actors do well, though Appleton doesn't quite come over as sufficiently inspirational. Fyfe manages to speak as if he's preaching but combines it with an un-subtle hypocrisy. Chambers is a nice urban shouty contrast. 

As an upstairs studio production – it's directed by Di Richards – this is a demanding play which is only partially successful in terms of payback. It actually compares itself to Chekhov. It isn't quite that; nevertheless it's well worth seeing.

Alan Geary

The Road to Mecca runs at the Lace Market Theatre till Saturday, 25th February