I enjoyed double dose of cerebral theatre genre on stages of Keorapetse William Kgositsile at UJ Arts Centre

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

After the disruption of the past three years by the global pandemic Covid-19, it is a pleasure to now be able to attend theatrical productions and other events –without the once mandatory but stifling mask. It feels like something very special to be able to go out in freedom and enjoy yourself in a social set up, and meet other people. It is hard to imagine that this kind of freedom we took it for granted before 2020, when our lives were suddenly disrupted and social interaction beyond close family members was disrupted and limited.

I thought about this when I attended a theatrical opening at the UJ Arts Centre, one of the few I have attended since restrictions were lifted. And boy did I enjoy the freedom. The fact that the double bill on stage was really good plays that are intellectually stimulating, and I must say, must have been challenging for the director to put together into a comprehensible stage narrative.

Though these plays are two, but one got a feeling that it was originally one story that for the sake of directorial clarity and minimising the complexity inherent in directing theatre of that nature, it was decided to separate the one play into two. This is just my onion. And the fact that the same set was used and the same cast and director was in charge of both supposedly two plays, made me feel like in fact these two plays were one play, though dealing with two different subsets of stories.

But do not get me wrong, this double bill I watched at UJ on Wednesday when both plays opened was an intellectually stimulating double dose of really good theatre. Good acting. Good music. Simple set. Good directing and really very good scripts that opened possibilities of a cerebral brand of theatre in the country. This indeed is an example of what comes out when artists take risks and experiment, even at the risk of failure. Failure is sometimes good as it teaches creative what not to do next time. What works and what does not work. Fortunately for this double bill it worked.

Here is what it is all about this double bill. Two new South African scripts, two actors, two plays, one set, and one director. UJ Arts & Culture, a division of the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA), presented The Paper Double-Bill directed by the award winning UJ Arts & Culture Resident Director, Jade Bowers. The production took place at the UJ Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre on Kingsway Campus from 8 to 10 February 2023.

This experimental production features scripts from the UJ Playwriting Lab intake of 2020. A yearlong laboratory, the Playwriting Lab is designed to support the development of the new African creative content. Over the course of the programme, the playwrights were tasked with writing a 60-90 minute one-act plays. Papercuts and Waiting for Lift-Off are two of the four plays selected from the UJ Playwriting Lab.

Papercuts, a play by Tamarisk Ray Glogauer, is set in a papery world between the old and the new. Two siblings rubble through the debris of the abstract world to learn more about themselves, to find each other and complete an unnamed commission. The play delves into themes of love, loneliness, womanhood, religion, and what it means to document our stories in a burning world.

In Waiting for Lift-Off, Nomakhwezi Becker shares a story of two sisters trying to connect across oceans. The script uses language, memory, song, and paper planes, to represent the stories of how their lives unfold. They lose and find themselves in the process of figuring out if blood is thicker than the oceans that divide them.

“This process has been so rewarding to contribute to and collaborate on, as it advances the development of brand new South African theatre. I feel honoured to be directing these works that have inspired me since their inception, especially working with the brilliance of Carla Classen, Yogin Sullaphen and Ziaphora Dakile to bring these scripts to life” says Jade Bowers.

The University of Johannesburg is a leading proponent in inspiring and supporting new South African content in the arts and academic discipline. This interactive production is a testament to the out- of-the-box thinking the University of Johannesburg promotes. The production is suitable for individuals aged sixteen and above.

It is a pity though that this theatrical treat ran for a short season: 8-10 February 2023 at UJ Keorapetse William Kgositsile Theatre on Kingsway Campus. It deserves a longer season.