“In Colour Me Human we do shades,” says musician Steve Dyer, to stick to only one of his many talents. He’s speaking about his latest project, a musical which opens at the Soweto Theatre for its world premiere on May 22.
He explains: “This particular consciousness has been with me for a long time, formulated by my mother.”
When he talks about his journey which is about seeking freedom, his mom was the one who propelled him in this direction. Thinking about life (his own, mostly) and how it played itself out, he knew it would be one of his regrets, if he didn’t try to get this one done.
“We need to treat one another the way we want to be treated,” he says when discussing the meaning of his self-conceptualised musical. He feels strongly that our values are reflected in our personal behaviour and he wants to show us all as interconnected.
This musical journey plays with the concept of “what now?” That question followed an article he read titled Colour me Black which was also linked to a conversation between an African father and his son. The elder warns his child that he should never forget the colour of his skin, because in this world, the playing field isn’t level.
To create Colour Me Human, he formed a not-for-profit company based on four pillars and he embroiders: “There’s the objective “to promote social cohesion through arts, culture and philosophy.
“Of the lexicon we have as being flawed, I think of some examples such as: The Freedom Charter (and so much contemporary ‘social cohesion’ talk) refers to building a ‘non’-racial society. What does that mean? More accurately, are we not a ‘uni’-racial nation and world?”
The Institute of Race Relations is a misnomer he believes. If, as Robert Sobukwe stated over half-a-century ago: “There is only one race, and that is the human race.
“If before any human interaction between people of different ethnicities takes place there is an intrinsic perception that they are not from the same race (as DNA testing disproves), what common ground is there to work from?
“As a creative artist, my aim is to look at the challenges we face in an artistic way. I believe people’s development may be enhanced more through sensory experience than rational/ logical debate.”
A particular construct of the musical is that it also be stretched to accommodate a guest artist in the future or anything else that might work. “I wanted to celebrate unity in diversity but also acknowledge humanity’s historical journey,” he explains.
It’s easy, he believes, to identify what’s wrong, but much harder to fix.
“We need forward thinking,” he stresses and believes not enough energy is being poured into this endeavour.
It’s not a small ask, but he’s determined and at the start of this journey, he began with the music. “There are different moments that depict certain elements, movements,” he says, “dealing, for example, with the origin and evolution of speech; immigration, joining groups, the hunt for partners…” and his ideas drift off as he leaves you with impressions.
What he stresses is the spiritual, the emotional and he tried not to think too consciously about the music.
“The base is African and humanity,” he says. That had to be the sound palate and that’s what he believes is unique, the African rhythms and sounds.
• At the Soweto Theatre, May 21 to 30 and at Joburg Theatre’s Fringe later this year.
Creative team & musicians
Colour Me Human is a celebration of humanity, told through movement, music and visuals, and to do this, the creative team had to be very specific and special.
With Dyer responsible for the concept and the music, he brought Makhaola Ndebele on board for direction. His latest play, The Mother of All Eating is playing at the Momentum, State Theatre and he has an exciting, contemporary eye.
Lighting and set design is by Wilhelm Disbergen and he suggested Sonia Radebe as the choreographer.
Costume designs are by Thando Lobese who designed for shows like Brer Rabbit and Songs of Migration.
On the musical side, Dyer is very specific about whom he performs with – naturally. Youth is what excites him at the moment because they are fearless, tuned into what is happening around them and always ready to take on the unconventional.
“I never see the band as a backing one,” he says. “We’re all in this together.”
Musicians featured in this work include vocalist, instrumentalist and performance artist Ammara Brown from Zimbabwe, whom he describes as “quite phenomenal”, The Soweto Theatre Music Tutorial Choir, pianist Thandi Ntuli, drummer Amaeshi Ikechi and Lungile Kunene.
“We don’t have the luxury to make pretty,” says Dyer, who is hoping to also record the music. “It’s more than a performance piece and won’t only have a life in the theatre,” he says. The possibilities, he feels, are huge, but he still has to look beyond the intricacies of staging this kind of work.