Theatre activist Kessie Govender, will be celebrated when his first play is restaged at Durban’s Stable Theatre next month.
Auditions for Stablexpense took place in Durban under the helm of Govender’s wife, Jayashree, who is the executive director of the project.
It will mark the first time that one of Govender’s works will be staged since his death 11 years ago because, until now, his family had not granted the performance rights for any of his works.
Also significant is the fact that Stablexpense was Govender’s first play, written in 1971. The Stable Theatre – which Govender opened in the mid-seventies and is the first independent, black-owned theatre in the country – was also named after Stablexpense. Tonight caught up with Jayashree who explained how the new staging of Stablexpense came about.
“We’ve (the Govender family) have not done any of Kessie’s works and he’s passed on for 11 years now. Many people have asked for them for a while, but we haven’t been able to do it because it is still very painful,” she says with tears in her eyes.
“The Stable Theatre has been trying to keep his name alive. They asked us for a play and we felt that Stablexpense was very suitable because it was Kessie’s first play and is still very relevant. It’s important for young people because it takes us back to the days of apartheid and the Special Branch and the effects it had on people,” explained Jayashree.
Jayashree said the production, and the name of Stable Theatre, formed a scathing comment against the authorities of the time.
“They spent the equivalent of the cost of a stable on a house in Chatsworth where people of Indian descent were relocated as part of the Group Areas Act. However, the stables were more structurally sound than the badly constructed dwellings in Chatsworth. Basing his comment on his experience in the building trade, Kessie believed it was an insult to expect people to live in a home of such poor quality.”
Jayashree said it was particularly important that young people see the play, to gain an understanding of their history.
“When you speak to most young people today, they don’t know (about apartheid and its effects). But they must know about their grandparents’ struggles and how these impacted (on) their parents. They must know about how it is that their parents cannot give them a better life today.”
She said this production of Stablexpense was an important forerunner in their plans to formalise the Kessie Govender Arts Foundation.
“Through the foundation, we will develop people and projects that represent the intangible ethos of the Stable Theatre. The foundations will also raise funds towards supporting the production of his plays.”
Theatre stalwart Caroline Smart has been roped in as the creative director. We asked Jayashree about their choice: “Caroline and I balance each other out perfectly. She has the technical skill in the tradition of stage production and I have a sense of cultural nuances and peculiarities that will bring what is now in essence a period play to life. She also worked with Kessie for a long time, so she would take a personal interest in this production. This is important for us.”
• Stablexpense is expected to stage towards the end of next month at the Stable Theatre.