BLACK DOG/ INJ’EMNYAMA. Written by Barney Simon and original cast. Directed by Claire Stopford, with Khathu Ramabulana, Clarissa Roodt, Kai Brummer, Cleo Raatus, Sihle Mnqwazana and Tankiso Mamabolo. Set design Sasha Eilers. Lighting design Luke Ellenbogen and Sean Whitehead. At Baxter until June 27. TRACEY SAUNDERS reviews
THE winter of 1976 was bitterly cold in Johannesburg. In addition to the usual smoke of anthracite fires and smouldering braziers the sky hung heavy with tear gas. This is the Soweto that Stopford and her cast create with an aching authenticity on the stage. In the week in which we commemorated the protests of June 16, 1976 the production carried even more weight.
Black Dog/Inj’emnyama was originally devised by Barney Simon and a cast that included James Mthoba, Gcina Mhlope, Kurt Egelhof and Neil McCarthy in 1984. Performing an originally workshopped piece of theatre from a script is a challenging process. Often the immediacy and urgency created in the initial devised performance does not translate to another cast. Not only does this cast capture the sense of the time, but they embody the energy of youth which is so essential to the piece. This explosive combination of youthful energy and established text result in a performance that leaves you reeling and with a new found appreciation of the history of this country.
Black Dog/ Inj’emnyama was part of a Retrospective Season earlier this month at UCT which celebrated the life of Barney Simon, co-founder of the Market Theatre and one of South Africa’s most prolific writers, theatre makers and directors. The very brief run at the Arena Theatre limited the production’s accessibility and all credit to Lara Foot, CEO of the Baxter for making the work available to a broader audience. The transition to the Flipside Theatre has neither diminished the power of the piece nor unsettled the young actors.
The change in space has created more staging opportunities and the cast break the fourth wall innovatively, making full use of the very versatile stage. The simple set was originally designed by Sasha Eilers for the performance at The Market Theatre in 2006. The audience views much of the action through wire mesh with occasional unhampered glimpses between the open spaces. At times the cast escapes the confines of the wire walls and climb the structure, beating it and raging against the inanimate proxy for the restrictive apartheid regime. We can see clearly and yet there is often more that we don’t see – no one solid perspective prevails. Madoda, the Black Dog is a leader during the 1976 student protests.
Ramabulana leads the students with a charisma that is captivating, clutching his well thumbed copy of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist. His performance is a revelation and such is his magnetic charm that his persuasive rhetoric is entirely believable. This is what true leadership looks like. His moments of tender compassion, caring and the cracks in his humanity are revealed in carefully crafted vignettes. He rescues a young boy from bullies, protects a young woman from local gangsters, jostles with his sister, attempts to seduce a potential beau and comforts his mother on the eve of his exile.
This is no one dimensional character, but a complex human who inspires and encourages his comrades to be more than who they believe they are. Madoda’s arrest, release and escape to exile form part of the dense narrative and are not just a historical trajectory of events but an exploration of the personal struggles of so many who lost their childhoods, and some who lost their lives. Ramabaluna is the lynchpin holding the rhythm of the piece which is further cemented by the deep rumbles of students toyi-toying and singing haunting struggle anthems.
Each cast member plays several roles as the tumultuous years beginning in 1976 are followed through the eyes of students, a teacher, a soldier, a night watchman, a mother and others. The portrayal of multi generational characters is a test for any actor, but even more so for a cast so young.
Mnqwazana rises to the challenge effortlessly and transforms the ambitious hope of a middle aged man leaving his rural village to the bitter disappointment of a night watchman in the city. His caricature of a school janitor is played with a dash of the jester and shows a glimpse of his comic ability. Mamabolo’s versatility is showcased as she performs the roles of Madoda’s sister, love interest and mother. She is confident in each of them and her transitions between the different characters are effortless.
The lunacy of apartheid race classification is encapsulated in a sentence uttered by the hapless painter Booysens (Raatus) as he decries his classification as a ‘Cape-Coloured’ when he hasn’t even been to Cape Town. The execution of a painting job and the subsequent search for alcohol to celebrate the release of his beloved mentor and teacher are an indictment of white suburban arrogance and a parody of errors. Simultaneously heart wrenching and hilarious we follow him from the segregated liquor store on a mad dash to countless shebeens. Given the lunacy of the day it is no surprise when his escapades end in tears, but such is his tenacity that one is compelled to urge him on right to the bitter end.
The dehumanizing aspect of enforcing apartheid is epitomised by Brummer who plays the role of a young white army conscript, Raymond. He grows up before our eyes on stage and from a confident, over achieving student he becomes a cog in the bloody government machinery. The loss of his self and his heartbreaking and chilling unravelling will resonate particularly with white audience members of a certain age. This is a reminder of the walking wounded that may have survived the armed conflict but the damage to their psyche continues to permeate much of our current history. His emotional performance is soulful and the delivery of his monologues of brutality compel a reluctant but heartfelt sympathy. Nobody escaped apartheid unscathed.
Roodt did not perform in the first iteration of the play but she slips in to the cast seamlessly and brings a specific flavour to the portrayal of the young Afrikaans girl who reminisces about her childhood. The contrast between her coming of age and that of her black contemporaries in Soweto is stark. While relaying memories of her grandmother she refers to the Anglo-Boer War and excavates yet another layer of our blood soaked past. This contrast and the historical memories highlight the richness of Simon’ s collaborative techniques which are able to display a multiplicity of personal narratives without sacrificing the integrity of any single one.
Without exception each and every performance is delivered with passionate conviction. These children of the generation of 1976 display a commitment and dedication that their parents can be proud of. While the play is set in one of the most politically relevant periods of South Africa’s history it is the humanity of each individual character that provides such profound richness. Stopford said of Simon “primarily his aim, subliminally political and overtly humanitarian was for people of a brutally divided country to hear and see each other, to know each other.” She has done an extraordinary job of achieving Simon’s aim and provides another opportunity to see each other in a nation which is still divided on many levels.
This is one of three productions celebrating Simon at the Baxter in the coming months. Born in the RSA, directed by original cast member Thoko Ntshinga and Sizwe Bansi is dead, directed by John Kani open in July and August respectively. This is a rare opportunity to watch some of South Africa’s finest theatre that reminds us of where we have come from and how much further we have go. If you ever ponder the origins of violence and pain that still pervade our daily lives this will provide some answers and leave you in awe of the talent of the generation of 2015. It is a celebration of the heroes of the struggle and a glimpse of the leaders of the future.
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