Mining the issue: your parents vs your dreams

Sboniso Msimango in The Working Man. Picture: Supplied

Sboniso Msimango in The Working Man. Picture: Supplied

Published Jul 28, 2015

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USING storytelling, live music and physical theatre is the Catalina Theatre’s three-hander, The Working Man which runs until August 9.

The play depicts the life story of a young man who dreams of becoming a dancer but is pressured by his father and his community to work in the mines because that’s what a “real” man does.

A press release states that each episode in his story is constructed in a minimalist fashion using nothing more than two black blocks, the actors’ physicality and monologues to illustrate the different fragments of his life.

Written and produced by Sboniso Msimango and directed by Brandon Moulder, The Working Man is performed by Nqobile Mthembu, Msimango and Mfundiseni Ndwalane.

Tonight caught up with Msimango who also stars in the production. He explains how the concept was born: “It was influenced by the challenges that one can go through if he/she desires a career that is against their parents will. This is what I realised when I came at the university and it was sad to find out that lots of people are not persuing their dreams but their parents’ dreams instead. It is one family’s story that gives way to a number of issues in our South African context; it looks at a family unit, the polarities between the traditional and contemporary, manhood and femininity, the struggle for individuality, but wanting to belong at the same time.”

Shedding light on the elements used to portray the story, Msimango says it fuses acting, music and dance. “Each of these theatrical elements are used to tell the young man’s story,” he shares.

On the highs and lows on working on a show such as this, the producer says: “The best part about writing the show is that I got to write the story of three people that resembles many stories that our compatriots come across every day. The best part about producing it was to work with Brandon Moulder who directed it. With his knowledge of the theatre, he transformed the piece into something remarkable. And I think the biggest challenge was to make sure that the acting is not over-shadowed by music and dance. Everything had to get equal time on stage.”

According to Msimango, audiences can expect real physical theatre with the influence of storytelling: “The performers use nothing but their bodies to convey different meanings of the story. But most of all, the audience must expect a well-made and polished production. We want to thank Catalina Theatre for giving us an opportunity to showcase this work to the public. Be sure to come, anyone who brings five people to watch the show will get a complimentary ticket,” he adds.

l Runs at the Catalina Theatre until August 9. Shows at 7pm (Thursday to Saturday and 2pm Sunday. Tickets are R80 adults and R50 students available at Computicket or the door.

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