Political satire and poetry, mysticism and metaphor, as well as dollops of savage humour – Monageng Motshabi and Kgafela Oa Magogodi’s Book of Rebellations has it all, neatly packaged in a storytelling tradition that is African to its fingertips.
A glance at the programme suffices to suggest the imminence of something original and possibly disconcerting as the name of the production is printed with the word “Rebellations” upside down, like the society in which the protagonists live.
The narrative is enhanced by evocative music from the duo of Bafana Ndlhovu (double bass) and percussionist Phosho Lebese, dimly visible on occasion behind the backdrop on which visuals, mostly disturbing, are projected as the story requires.
Issues painfully familiar to present South Africans, such as xenophobia and the erosion of democracy, are tackled head on, the in-your-face quality of the play tempered to some extent by excursions into the realm of surreality when the text becomes more lyrical and poetic. Ensemble among the cast of four is tight, with no actor upstaging his or her peers; characterisation is strong and the pace well sustained.
A ghoulish dictator (magisterially played by Lebohang Motaung) presides with deceptive benevolence over Kanana (Biblical resonance as obvious as the title Book of Rebellations) – a land of milk and honey coveted by its less prosperous neighbours.
He suffers from a rare disease necessitating regular consumption of children’s brains to keep it in check – and he is not a whit troubled by the sacrifice of 5-year old lives to promote his own health. His first entry is accompanied by an exuberant performance from a female praise-singer, and ceremony is attendant on all he does, evidenced by his elaborate presidential costume.
This anti-hero depends on an arcane book and a sceptre to ensure his continued enjoyment of power and privilege, so when both are stolen by a young public-spirited activist (Xolile Gama), his reaction is predictable…
The sufferings of the people of Kanana as well as those of foreign refugees in their land are evoked tellingly by monologues, the highlights of this production for their directness and simplicity. Nkoto Malebye, as a traumatised refugee, gives a heart-melting account of her sufferings and those of her sister, while Tshepo Bugzito Seagiso as the bereaved victim of forced displacement is endearingly naïve. Mercifully, neither yields to the temptation of sentimentality when recounting their respective plights.
Book-burning, genocide, and brutal interrogation of political prisoners, are all chillingly identifiable as symptoms of a failing democracy, and are featured graphically in the course of the action, counter-pointed by the whimsy of folklore like a force reminiscent of the Pied Piper luring away society’s future – its children.
Multi-layered and intriguing, Book of Rebellations is salutary viewing for the thinking citizens of contemporary South Africa.