After a critically acclaimed international tour and direct from the Market theatre in Johannesburg, The Coolie Odyssey, Rajesh Gopie’s delicate and insightful production looking at the lives of indentured workers from India who arrived in Natal to work on the sugar plantations, returns to Pietermaritzburg for a commemorative season honouring the Indian legacy and heritage in South Africa.
The play’s remarkable plot unfolds as its narrator, a reincarnated monkey with memories of its previous human incarnations, types up his story on an old typewriter. The story is that of Ramlal Kilhari, an indentured labourer who arrived in Durban in 1888. We follow Ramlal as he searches for identity, belonging and salvation against the backdrop of those pioneering colonial times. The scope of this play is panoramic, yet detailed and nuanced with pathos, live musical accompaniment and theatrical imagination. The cast includes newcomers Yateen Dayaram, Avershree Maistry, Don Mosenye as well seasoned actors Conrad Kemp and Rajesh Gopie. The live score is sung by Mumbai-based Sufi singing star, Anuraag Dounidyal.
Hexagon Theatre, Pietermaritzburg, until May 28. Ticket R100. Tel: 033 260 5537. Email [email protected]