WHEN playwright and activist Kessie Govender’s work Stablexpense stages next week, for the first time since his death 11 years ago, it will be a revival and achievement on many levels.
The staging will mark the first time any of his plays have been performed since his death in 2002. It heralds the official start of his family’s efforts to revive his works. It will honour the man who founded The Stable Theatre – the first independent black-owned theatre company in South Africa.
But for Yugan Naidoo and Satchu Annamalai – two of today’s accomplished theatre practitioners – it also marks their involvement in the arts having come full circle as they honour their mentor, Govender.
Writer and director Naidoo, of Dingalings Productions, said when he was approached by Govender’s wife, Jayashree, to act in the play, it was a compelling reason for him to return to acting.
“I had done national tours with Kessie over a number of years and when Jayashree and I chatted and she said I should do it in Kessie’s memory, there was no doubt about acting in the play. Everything I do in theatre today is what I learnt from Kessie as a student.”
Naidoo has produced or directed many shows under the Dingalings banner – the most recent being Full of Ship. His writing offers a nostalgic take on the past, especially for Indian communities in Durban.
“A lot of what I’ve been trying to do is capture that nostalgia and show what out forefathers endured. Looking at power plays and social dynamics and the prices people were willing to pay for economic and political freedom.
“All the people who come through Dingalings, in some way or another, come to experience Kessie’s teaching through what I do. A lot of what I do is because of what I learnt from Kessie,” he explained.
Naidoo said there were many unsung heroes in South Africa, both in politics and in the arts.
“Kessie’s works were universal stories. Timeless. None of what he is saying is not relevant today. His stoic contribution to theatre, his efforts to put into theatre and not get back… we don’t have that calibre of theatre maker today.”
According to a press release Stablexpense deals with two friends – Vadi and Marnie – who are refuse collectors. They are simple folk with a cheerful and pragmatic outlook on life who look upon their lahnee (boss) with awe. That’s until things start to go wrong…
Annamalai will portray Vadi, the role originally performed by Kessie Govender, with Naidoo in the role of Marnie.
Annamalai said he thought many people would be able to identify with the race relations of the past.
“I also think that presently we still have groups of people who believe some races are superior to others because that’s what apartheid trained people to believe.”
Commenting on how Govender will be honoured in the staging of Stablexpense, he said it was time it happened. He described how he came to know Govender on a deeper level while doing a doctorate study.
“I had done some research during apartheid and my doctorate was on South African playwrights in that period and I used Stablexpense as a point of reference. I got to interview Kessie at the time and got an in-depth point of view into his works.
“Kessie was one of the few people who went all-out as an artist. He was very principled and wanted his art to make a difference in people’s lives. He was very grassroots-oriented. His works played a major role in society and made their own contribution towards change,” he said.
Annamalai is publishing a mini- booklet, based on his thesis, which includes broad sweeps of the political circumstances during apartheid and the emergence of South African Indian playwrights who wrote in English. It also looks at Govender’s involvement, through his works, in grassroots transformation.
Also in the cast are Samantha Govender as Vadi’s wife and Naren Sunker takes the part of Thiru. Warrick Franck plays Marnie’s son, Rama. The production is co-directed by Govender’s wife, Jayashree, and theatre stalwart, Caroline Smart.
In a statement Jayashree said: “Caroline has technical skill in the tradition of stage production and I have a sense of the cultural nuances and peculiarities that will bring what is now in essence a period play, a piece of history to life.”
Stable Theatre centre manager, Thanduxolo Zulu, was quoted in the same statement saying: “We are very proud to have been given permission by Kessie Govender’s family to do this work which represents the first time any of his plays have been performed since his death in 2002. Without Kessie Govender, Stable Theatre itself would not exist and it is fitting that we honour him in his own home, as it were.”
- Stablexpense, at Stable Theatre, from November 22 to 30. R50, R40 pensioners and students at Computicket. For block bookings (R40 a person for more than 10) call 031 309 2513 or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].
Fact file
Some interesting facts about Kessie Govender and his play, Stablexpense:
- One of Durban’s cultural struggle icons, actor, director and playwright Kessie Govender was fearless in his refusal to perform in front of segregated audiences.
- In the mid Seventies, Govender started his own company, the Stable Theatre. Its first location was on Queen Street (Denis Hurley Street), then West Street (Dr Pixley KaSeme Street), until he discovered an abandoned electrical warehouse in Princess Alice Street (now Johannes Nkosi Street). He moved in with his Stable Theatre Company and refused to vacate the premises, despite efforts by the corporation to evict him.
- He eventually claimed squatters’ rights and won his case and this is where the Stable Theatre is today. The Stable Theatre became the first independent black-owned theatre company in South Africa.
- First performed in 1974, Stablexpense makes a biting commentary on the fact that the Durban municipality of the time allocated more money to the building of a stable for a horse than it did to one of the new low-cost houses for Indians in Chatsworth after their eviction from areas rezoned for whites only.
- Source: The Stable Theatre