CAPE TOWN - On at the Artscape Theatre this month, Locked Doors, Behind Doors explores the restrictions of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown in relation to South Africa’s history of slave and migrant labour.
The production is directed and choreographed by Sbonakaliso Ndaba, a former artistic director and now choreographer of the Indoni Dance Arts and Leadership Academy.
Ndaba explains that she felt as if her freedom was being taken away from her during the hard lockdown in 2020 and that she was being restricted and controlled by someone else much like the slaves of her ancestry.
"I found myself sitting at home everyday for months and back then I knew nothing about slaves and the Apartheid regime but I done research and started noticing the similarities."
"I found that all of these things were the same, one was told to be quiet and the other one was told not to go anywhere," said Ndaba.
Together with her dancers, Ndaba researched the history of slavery by embarking on a trip to the Iziko Slave Museum.
They delved deeper into the histories of the generations of slaves who were stripped of their identities, homes and families and then transported and sold to provide labour to the colony. The performers then turned their focus on generations of migrant labourers who were housed in cramped single sex hostels, controlled curfews and infamous pass.
Indaba explains that it is crucial for South Africans to learn and be knowledgeable about the history of slavery.
"It should be taught properly in schools, I am 50 and never knew anything, I feel like I was robbed off some information," she said.
The production tells its story through a mixture of dance, acting and singing and is on at the Artscape Theatre on February 17-19. Tickets are on sale at Computicket or Artscape via 021 410 9800.
Cape Times