Captivating play confronts social scars
It was a night of raw emotion and talent at Ramosa Hall as three artists used performance to mirror society's struggles.
Three artists recently performed at Ramosa Hall to showcase local talent and emphasise societal issues.
Local thespian Tebogo Munyai mounted a three-man theatrical play entitled Black on Black. The play had three elements, namely poetry, contemporary dance in the form of ballet and indigenous musical instruments.
The play staged on Freedom Day is mainly about inner and outer anger and hunger faced by society on a day-to-day basis. From gender-based violence to poverty. Tebogo emphasised that art, notably theatre, remains relevant in the current socio-political landscape in the same way, but it only differs with current socio-dynamics. In the past, poets like Ingwapele Madingwane, Mzwake Mbuli, Breyten Breytenbach and the American poet and singer Gil Scott-Heron used slam poetry as a voice for the voiceless.
If I have four loaves of bread in my cupboard, it must worry me about my hungry neighbour,” said Tebogo.
“This is something that would normally be seen at big theatres like the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. To see such an expansive production on a local stage, offered by a home-grown talent, we need to revive community theatre,” added Terance Mogalobe, who attended the play.
The three-man act consisted of Tebogo Munyai with ballet, Dimpho Makokokoe’s poetry and Kenny Rakotswane on indigenous instruments of mbira or the mouth harp, drums and kudu horn.
