THE Durban University of Technology’s (DUT) Drama Department has been at the helm of some cutting edge productions coming out of our tertiary institutions.
Their annual contemporary dance showcase, Reunion (directed by Mdu Mtshali) and Sir Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, directed by Marcia Peschke, are just two examples.
And now it seems the department is headed for a third feather in its cap with Same Differences, a new stage dance-musical written and directed by Angela Harvey.
The production will tackle cultural similarities by exploring difference through the portrayal of three different co-existing worlds of opposing tribes – one bright yellow and the other bright red. Through a friendship that is struck across tribes, diversity is explored against the backdrop of a number of social unity issues, political and corporate abuse of power and more.
Tonight caught up with Harvey to find out more about her intriguing concept, which will also incorporate a mixed bag of dance styles with ballet and tribal dance influences from African and Native American cultures.
“Exploring diversity has always been an interesting issue for me. I’m from England originally, but I’ve always been aware of situations like racism and, in the South African context particularly, apartheid.
“And I’ve always been intrigued by how things like colour can create such reactions in people,” she begins to explain.
“I remember, as a child, how we learnt these things. It’s not natural; it’s not innate to have any reaction to someone on the basis of race. I’m a person of colour and I come from England, so I guess here I’d be categorised as ‘coloured’.
“I recall how, as a child I was referred to as ‘blackie’… and so as children we learn this thing of race and categorising people by colour.
“And that is one of the things I think has always intrigued me,” she said.
As a lecturer working in city areas from London to New York, to Soweto; Harvey realised a lot of the time “the language of the street”, as she calls it, is a monoculture. “Particularly in somewhere like England today, you could be standing in a queue and hearing voices behind you and when you turn around often the faces you are met with are not what you thought.
“So you hear lots of white kids sounding like black kids and using West Indian colloquialisms… White kids in New York using what we may think are black colloquialisms…
“I’m very intrigued by innocence. I think it cuts through so much rubbish. So I’m using two characters, who are playing young parts, to have conversations and they go on a journey that we as the audience will follow. We get to overhear their discussions that work through why the adults find some issues difficult to get through whereas for them it’s really quite simple,” Harvey said.
The two – one from the red tribe, the other from the yellow tribe, then run away into an underground world to be together. “I’m using colour in the literal sense which also makes the play accessible to children, while adults will be able to take it all in on their level.
But anyone can enjoy and be entertained by a lot of the wit that comes through… That has always been the concept, that we’re not even talking about black and white, we’re talking about the issue of differences. For the adults the underlying issues will definitely be about race, but children will just see it as a colourful play about people who are different.”
• Same Differences runs at DUT Courtyard Theatre from September 12 to 18 at 7pm. R40 a ticket. To book: 031 373 2194 or e-mail [email protected]