The sun finally emerged on Saturday, the penultimate day of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
It brought out day-trippers from surrounding towns and cities, clothes-shopping private-school kids pleading poverty at the markets, sports-watching beer-tenters, Kiwi farmers holding court at The Long Table regaling innocent victims with the intricacies of picking apples by way of justifying their having fled the country after the 1994 elections, et cetera … the usual bag of all-sorts that the final weekend attracts.
Grahamstown bulges. The one-donkey town experiences the odd traffic jam, even. At times, there is a Monty Python-esque feel to the place. You know the one, where the lard-ass eats the equivalent of what New York city eats for lunch and explodes on “ze wayfer theen menthe”.
So let’s cut the flab and keep this short and sharp — like a tequila shot. Or three:
Shot One: Mafeking Road
A two-hander performed by Andrew Laubscher and Mathew Lewis, it promised “Herman Charles Bosman for a new generation”.
It is. If the new generation are into comic-book style physical theatre and are too lazy to read one of the greatest writers this country has produced. Which sounds about right.
It is a brash and bold reading of four of Bosman’s stories: In the Withaak’s Shade, The Bekkersdaal Marathon, The Love Potion and Willem Prinsloo’s Peach Brandy.
The actors are good, but the loudness of the narration (complete with snap, crackle and pop) sound effects detracts from Bosman’s delicate, nuanced storytelling.
It is creative, but will not appeal to Bosman purists.
Shot Two: Somewhere on the Border
The revival of this 25-year-old anti-war classic is a powerful rumination on the brutalising effects war has on young men.
Written by Anthony Akerman and directed by Andre Odendaal, it follows young conscripts from boot camp to the frontlines of the then-South West Africa and Angola.
As incisive as Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, the acting is pitch-perfect, as is the staging.
Shot Three: Death of a Colonialist
Jamie Bartlett gives a rousing performance as a cantankerous history teacher in Grahamstown who has an awakening (both personal and political) when his wife is diagnosed with cancer and he is suspended for making reference to the “bloody Xhosas” while teaching a class about the Eastern Cape Frontier Wars.
It is a vitally important piece of theatre as it suggests that an amnesiac approach to SA’s history is as detrimental to both the country and personal development, as an inflexible one, or one that lacks nuance in comprehension.
A triumph.
For more from the National Arts Festival, see our special report.
