THE PLAYHOUSE Company is preceding its usually buzzing festive season programme with one that will commemorate democracy in South Africa.
Last week it announced its 20 Years of Democracy season, which is scheduled to run throughout next month.
Four productions will be staged for the season and, judging by the programme, it seems The Playhouse has opted for a refreshing, reflective take for the commemoration.
Tonight spoke to Playhouse chief executive officer and artistic director, Linda Bukhosini, about the season.
“South Africa celebrates 20 years of democracy this year; so we wanted to highlight this through the arts. We would love to have showcased over the year, but our budget was limited. These are young productions, in that they were created over the past 20 years.
“No set theme runs through the season. It just happens to be a selection of productions we saw at the National Arts Festival and elsewhere which we thought would be appropriate to highlight in this season,” said Bukhosini.
“Some of them celebrate our achievements over 20 years, some reflect on how far we’ve come.
“Have we become better people or are we regressing?”
The season features Aubrey Sekhabi’s Silent Voice, Joanna Evans’s The Year of the Bicycle (which won the 2012 National Arts Festival's Most Promising Student Director Award), African Sinakho Arts’ In Blood and Lliane Loots’s Bhakti.
Silent Voice arrives in Durban straight from its success in this year’s Edinburgh Assembly Fringe Festival. Apart from having received rave reviews in Edinburgh, it was also nominated for four Naledi Awards, with performances acclaimed at South Africa’s State Theatre, the Market Theatre and the Baxter.
“With Silent Voice, we are hoping the media will use this particular production to focus on the psychology behind people who commit crimes. Sometimes we view criminals as those who just need to be punished. We hardly ever look at the underlying causes of their crimes.
“Somehow they went off track. What could have contributed to their delinquent behaviour? This is not to say I applaud criminal behaviour. But as a society that cares, shouldn’t we have prog-rammes of intervention in our workplaces, places of worship, in areas where we live, to help people who fall off the rails and try to rehabilitate them?
“I hope this play sparks debate on this. We also plan to take the production to Westville Correctional Centre and allow some of the prisoners there who have an interest in the arts to watch excerpts and interact with the cast.
“All we are doing is putting these issues on an artistic platform. We are not psychologists; we are not social workers or legal people. We only hope that it opens up discussion,” said Bukhosini.
She said The Year of the Bicycle was a tale of two youngsters from different racial backgrounds. It sets out their exchanges at play and in talk, and what they think.
“The extension of that is what happens when these two young people – who are innocent and do not see colour, but treat one another as just another human being – grow up.
“That part of us is then shut off and we now view one another with suspicion and fear.
“So we are hoping the audience will reflect on that. The arts is one of those platforms that gives people from different backgrounds the opportunity to just come together in the same space and reflect and question themselves.
“For me, this production should assist us as responsible adults to question our attitudes. Are we really that different? Or have we been socialised into a system that focuses on the difference more than the common good?” she pondered.
In Blood deals with issues people with various types of disabilities face.
“It will be staged towards the end of the month, almost coinciding with the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign.
“That’s one of the reasons we want to showcase this production in that period, because it addresses issues about people with disabilities. Some of them are abused, some are shunned by their communities and so on.
“It is a celebratory project, but it also highlights some of the challenges. It is important for us to help give these artists a platform to express themselves artistically.”
With Bhakti, Bukhosini said the piece was commissioned with the hope of creating a new dance language.
“The idea is to let these young people, Generation Y, figure out how to create dance for themselves.
“Some of them have never had formal dance training, some are street dancers, some are trained in ballet, some have indlamu and pantsula backgrounds, some are contemporary dancers.
“In this instance, Loots has gone for classic Indian music, traditional Zulu music. It will be essentially in her style, which is contemporary, but it will have elements of different things.”
Bukhosini said ticket prices were being kept low, with discounts offered should patrons book to see more than one show, to encourage the public to come and share the experience.
“The arts are beautiful and we want to expose people to this beauty. But we also want them to be stimulated when they come to see these productions, to start imagining a world that is different from the one we live in.
“If we just performed for the sake of those of us who like the arts, who are initiated, then it becomes an esoteric, academic, artistic exercise. Few people would be exposed to it.
“It can’t be so avant-garde that people who come to watch the shows would be far removed from them. What’s taking place on the stage, using the medium of the performing arts – whether it’s dance, music or the spoken word; has to have a basis from which to interact with the person who is observing.
“It should inspire people and help them connect with the issues that are being raised. The more the art expressed on stage has a message, the more it is relevant to the communities we live in. And what better platform to engage with society than to use the arts?” she said.
• The 20 Years of Democracy season runs from November 6 to 30. Bookings through Computicket.
A glance at what’s on during the 20 years democracy season
• The Year of the Bicycle (November 13 to 16): A provocative comic-drama that tells the story
of the friendship of two young South Africans from different communities whose lives are disrupted by an unspoken cultural divide. It’s an extraordinarily captivating play that explores many of the emotional challenges facing our diverse country today.
• In Blood (November 21 to 23). This vibrant and heart-warming musical stars the amazingly talented singer, actor and songwriter Thandi Gcwensa, who plays the lead role of Duduzile, a blind village girl whose grit, determination and perseverance towards success, love and prosperity are an inspiration to all around her. In Blood is staged with a mixed cast of performers, some able-bodied and others with various disabilities.
• Silent Voice (November 6 and 9): Featuring Presley Chweneyagae (of Tsotsi fame), Zenzo Ngqobe, Boitumelo Shisana and Don Mosenye, Silent Voice is a high-octane, armed-heist thriller that explores the mindset of criminals and the psychology of crime in modern-day South Africa.
• Bhakti (November 28 to 30) is a joyous and seamless inter-cultural fusion of dance, spoken word, film and music. Choreographed by Lliane Loots, it features 21 of KZN’s finest professional dancers from the Flatfoot Dance Company and the Playhouse Dance Residency, who will be joined by veteran Kathak dancer Manesh Maharaj, musician Madala Kunene (maskandi guitarist), master djembe drummer Mandla Matsha, tabla player Vishen Kemraj and poet Raheem Kemet.
• For the full programme, visit www.playhousecompany.com. Bookings through Computicket.
Source: The Playhouse