Nobody ever suggested that the search for a new South African theatrical identity would be complete within a decade of democracy. But no one could have imagined that the process of moving beyond conventional protest theatre would take us through nauseatingly static, linear and pedestrian experiments that pass for work addressing present day issues. The current programme at the Market Theatre offers new directions with a play featuring seasoned talent, and four new plays at the Fifth Barney Simon Young Writers Festival.
John Kani’s Nothing But The Truth is a play about present day South Africa with its roots in the old. It also reminds us about the importance of mastering the basics of storytelling even though it hardly surmounts what is problematic about current theatre.
Kani plays Sipho Makhaya, a man tormented by political and personal demons. He has to bury a brother who died in exile, whose remains are brought home by his niece called Mandisa (Pamela Nomvete). Mandisa is roughly the same age as Sipho’s daughter, Thando (Nthati Moshesh). The experience forces him to dig up his past: the pain of living in a brother’s shadow and the death of his son at the hands of apartheid security police. It also forces him to confront his state of disenchantment about democracy and its products like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The piece is high on entertainment value. Its relative complexity in making Kani’s character dynamic and the sheer good acting all round give it weight. The trouble comes with aspects of the script. When the two girls argue about reconciliation, you cannot help but be reminded of the Felicia Mabuza Suttle show, in turn influenced by popular editorials. When Kani booms out popular refrains of how the new South Africa fails those who put the African National Congress in power, one wishes that the obvious was nuanced and implied in casual conversation, not shouted in structured recitals.
The acclaimed theatre piece has unfolded against a poignant backdrop. Moshesh was roped in to replace Dambisa Kente, whose collapse owing to chest pains two weeks ago caused the opening to be delayed. Kente, niece of theatre doyen Gibson, died on Sunday night, bringing down the curtain on a face and voice that has been on South African television since the early Eighties. In recent years, when a black artist dies, there tends to be collective, ritualised outpouring of disgust at how somehow who has brought us joy can die a pauper. This is followed by a small donation by the Department of Arts and Culture, along with an undertaking that it should not happen again — until the next death.
Two plays at the festival address artists’ struggles at a personal and professional level. Emily Tseu’s The Thespian, chronicles the tribulations of three aspiring artists with extremely differing approaches to their careers. Nomahlubi seeks to retain the profession’s integrity by persevering through meagre paying jobs. She will probably die a pauper. Lesego maintains her drama queen status and TV career using any means necessary, including selling her soul. Jeff is a poet who gets by on empty promises and name-dropping. He probably hangs out at the Newtown Cultural Precinct. Mpho Molepo’s Diphala (whistles) uses kwela music to document the lives of black artists through four decades.
A subject that has gained currency and mileage in recent times is the scourge of child abuse. Nomahlubi Mangele’s Crazy 8 tackles the subject with intelligent construction. If you are expecting someone to pause mid-scene and reprimand and shout, “stop child abuse!” you will be disappointed. As director and festival artistic coordinator Tina Johnson says: “Theatre must create a catharsis through specifics and be enriching in the end.”
Mangele uses the card game crazy eight to show how a father used it to molest his daughter throughout high school. His comeuppance occurs when, returning from varsity, the daughter turns the table on her father in the presence of an oblivious mother to gain her revenge.
In another work veteran journalist Hans Pienaar brings years of documenting news around the world to his new play Please Tell Us What is Going On, Please. Set in a sub-editor’s office, it shows how news selection influences what we consume. He believes theatre can be a more useful tool for telling us what is going on in the world than newspapers.
From being bombarded with views of September 11 (and not too many other continuing tragedies) to being fed a diet of politics with little arts coverage, the process, Pienaar says, is driven by egos and personalities.
With new voices addressing the struggle of artists, child abuse and how the media reports it all, along with Kani’s look at how history makes the present tense, which gives a glimpse of national disillusionment. Somewhere in there lies the new South African story.
The details
The festival runs at the Barney Simon Theatre, Newtown Cultural Precinct, until November 16. Book at Computicket. Information: Tel: (011) 832 1641