The Sibikwa Players have shattered many of the stereotypes suffocating community theatre to bring a dazzlingly epic retelling of South African history to mainstream audiences, writes Evidence wa ka Ngobeni
Silence and darkness. A single African drumbeat fills the huge space of the Civic Theatre auditorium and, as the sound grows in intensity, light bursts forth on the stage like some immense volcano. The dancers emerge, backs hunched like pre- human creatures, writhing around to a mix of African and electronic sound. This is the start of Isiswe Sethu, Zulu for “Our Nation”, an awesome multi-media production brought to the Jozi stage by the Benoni- based Sibikwa Players.
Divided into two episodes, Isiswe begins billions of years ago when the world was still a ball of fire and, from there, takes the audience through the history of human evolution, colonisation and industrialisation in Africa. The second episode chronicles the rise and fall of apartheid in the country, culminating in the release of Nelson Mandela and ending with the joyous celebration of a new country.
The energetic and youthful cast even takes the audience through crucial historical moments like the Soweto youth uprising and processes like Codesa – all amazingly without dialogue. Rather, they tell the sad story through the movement of their amazingly articulate bodies complemented by a background of slides and animated images all adding up to one big bang of a performance.
Taking in this breathtaking spectacle – the lavish and detailed costumes and awesome sets, it is hard to believe that these youngsters learnt their discipline in an under-resourced community art workshop. Sibikwa was born as an informal community collective in 1989, providing employment to talented students emerging from local community theatre projects. Then, under the guidance of directors Smal Ndaba and Phyllis Klotz, Sibikwa launched itself as a full-time company.
Last year alone the company auditioned about 15 inexperienced youngsters and developed those skills which now instil dynamism into Isiswe. “We take young people who never had the experiences of art and teach them the skills and techniques involving art,” says Ndaba. In so doing the company has uplifted the lives of many young people in the country. For example Isiswe cast member Ntombi Maphosa was unemployed for five years before she joined Sibikwa. But in April 1998 her luck changed, and since then she’s been learning to dance, act and research in the Sibikwa workshops.
Although the company has travelled as far as Singapore, Canada, Europe and the United States performing their works, back in South Africa they have struggled to gain a footing in the theatre industry.
For months, Sibikwa has been in and out of community halls and schools staging their magnificent blend of play-acting, dance and music to both schoolchildren and adults.
In the communities they use boxes, bottle tops and tables for sets and, in the most remote areas, electric generators for light and sound equipment.
However, to get a run in high profile city theatres has proven difficult for Sibikwa. Community theatre today is a fragmented world in which performers and directors find survival a struggle. Audiences and the media tend to give more attention to “mainstream” theatre showcased in big cities, notes Klotz.
So the Civic Theatre performance of Isiswe is a real coup, not only for Sibikwa, but for community theatre in South Africa as a whole. The multi-media production is so powerful that it is likely to blow any preconceptions about community theatre out of the water. However it seems a tragedy that it ran for one night only. After their Jozi run Sibikwa is hoping to tour nationally, so with truckloads of luck it might hit your town soon.