ULWEMBU:
DIRECTOR: Neil Coppen
DESIGN: Dylan McGarry
CAST: Mpume Mthombeni, Vumani Khumalo, Phumlani Ngubane, Ngcebo Cele, Sandile Nxumalo and Zenzo Msomi.
VENUE: The Playhouse Loft Theatre
UNTIL: 9 April
RATING: 5 stars
LATOYA NEWMAN
A stage play running at The Playhouse Loft Theatre until Saturday (9 April) has bridged the gap between perception and drug use.
Ulwembu is a collaborative documentary-theatre initiative and the result of a collective two years or research, undercover work and play-making.
The creative team consists of award-winning playwright and director Neil Coppen; renowned actress Mpume Mtombeni; Kwa-Mashu based community-theatre group, The Big Brotherhood and educational sociologist Dylan McGarry.
The group undertook to research whoonga and its far reaching effects on the broader community.
The low-grade heroin, also known as nyaope, is notoriously known for its violent and highly additive effects on users, and for its link to spiralling crime and violence.
This creative team spent time interviewing and connecting with everyone affected by the drug – police, social workers and families of users. Some of the cast also spent time undercover with users and dealers in an effort to better understand the issue.
The result is a groundbreaking initiative that first of all sees a play, Ulwembu, exploring a problem in great depth.
Through the stories of the characters in the play, one is exposed to drug addiction far beyond surface-level opinions that are uninformed.
From two 16-year-old characters who’re addicts we learn how easy it is to slip into the trap of drug addiction. We also learn just how very different whoonga is from other street drugs, especially in terms of highly addictive qualities.
We see first hand how police and social workers have their hands tied in a spiralling situation – with barely enough resources to even begin to chip away at the problem and outdated systems that can not match the unique challenges that whoonga brings to the streets.
We see the devastating effects of drug addiction on families and communities in its link to crime and violence.
But most importantly we learn of the shockingly lack in rehab facilities and treatments that would be needed to combat drug addiction.
The beauty of Ulwembu is that is all based on actual people, families, situations and stats. So what we see on stage is a true reflection of our community’s situation at large and it’s scary, but very necessary to be aware of.
A post-staging Q&A session with the creative team and cast affords the audience an opportunity to really get some further insight into these realities and what the team encountered during their research and play-making process.
We also heard that there are plans for this production to be a stepping stone to more collaborative work with police, social and health workers, and communities to combat the scourge of drug addiction.
Not only does Ulwembu present a compelling theatre experience, but its true-to-life format means that this team is taking the bull by the horns and using the Arts to take to the frontlines of the war against drugs.
A must see!
Booking is through Computicket with tickets selling at just R50 for public performances. Community groups and local organizations can contact Dylan McGarry at [email protected] for free admission. Show times are Wednesday 9am and 12pm; Thursday at 7pm, Friday at 12pm and 7pm, and Saturday at 7pm.