Thebe Mabanga
Theatre
With his new play, Tale Motsepe is out to “paint a picture”. Called Sister Plus, it’s an engaging piece of theatre, pushing boundaries by fusing a wide range of interesting elements. Now running at the Market Theatre, Sister Plus is directed by Motsepe (also the venue’s assistant general manager).
Motsepe’s ability stems from his Wits drama school training and his days as a member of the Handspring Puppet Company. It was while touring with the company and presenting – among others – the acclaimed Ubu and the Truth Commission that Motsepe conceived this piece.
It is a look at society through the eyes of a woman, Eve – a free spirit when we encounter her at the time of her matric dance. She will suffer abuse at the hands of a once-caring partner, and find solace from her caring mother. Ultimately, Eve overcomes her unfortunate circumstances to emerge as a resilient, independent person.
The piece employs an unconventional standing-room-only technique and uses video slides, subtitles and open spaces to unfold at a staccato pace. The result is an often confusing montage that covers a broad spectrum of experience. One must applaud the play’s adventurousness, but be warned that it can be hard to follow the plot.
Eve is played by Delia Meyer. She is joined by Bruce Koch and Mpho Molepo. Molepo plays Eve’s abusive partner who, upon losing Eve, delivers a soliloquy that ignites the play. The leads are rounded off by the velvet-voiced Carol Behane and the pick of the bunch, Busi Zokufa. All have an assortment of interesting cameos which they handle with aplomb. Zokufa shows grace and sagacity as an old woman, and loses all of it as a drunk construction worker. In a word, she is versatile.
The cast’s job is made all the more intresting by fluctuating energy levels created by the soundtrack. The energy is trancey when the music is drum’n’bass and gets robust to kwaito sounds. It then ebbs when Abdullah Ibrahim tickles his piano.
Sister Plus straddles a number of interesting themes. The first is a tribute to the resourcefulness and power of women – hence the title. It acknowledges this
power without being patronising. It then purports to “celebrate the birth of a new nation”, without being constrained by political correctness.
Sister Plus runs at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg until October 2