SATISFACTION INDEX. Created and performed by Jackie Manyaa-pelo. SOLDAAT. Written by Amy Jephta and Ephraim Gordon. Directed by Amy Jephta, with Ephraim Gordon. At Artscape Arena Theatre until Saturday. TRACEY SAUNDERS reviews
WHILE it is difficult to be something, it’s almost impossible to be someone. Jackie Manyaapelo is defiantly someone. She is herself. A woman sure of her identity and unafraid to be herself in a world where that is often difficult.
This dance piece is an exploration of herself as a dancer, choreographer and black woman. Performed against the backdrop of the seven virtues – chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness and humanit, each vignette provides a window on her world and her multifaceted character.
The title Satisfaction Index is drawn from the investigative nature of the production. Manyaapelo wanted to explore what made her and her audiences happy. The varied choreography is a result of her quest to explore different ways of presenting dance theatre. Musical styles are varied and move between contemporary pop and African tracks, heavily laden with hypnotic drum beats.
Her many costume changes happen behind a screen and the silhouette of the dancer transforming from one character to another is one of the more visually arresting aspects of the performance. A classical wedding dress, a designer silk screened dress, a hand beaded veil – each outfit an aspect of the dancer.
The absence of a linear narrative leaves much of the performance open to interpretation and no-one image dominates. She navigates the changes from girl to confident woman and elderly sage with ease. Some sequences seem slightly more laboured than others. The final image of the dancer painting her hands and covering them with glitter leaves the audience with a surreal image
Soldaat was jointly conceived by Jephta and Gordon and draws on the struggles experienced by communities in Belhar, Heideveld and Lavender Hill. The one hander follows Nadir, a disillusioned young man who shelters in a vandalized school building. An old fashioned school desk and blackboard are the only items as he gathers his thoughts before embarking on his mission of destruction.
The failure of the education system and inability of schools to guarantee the safety of children is implied in the setting. As he recalls the many incidents of violence, drug abuse and rape he is bitter and disenchanted. The police seem unwilling to act against the scourge of criminality and he has joined those who have chose vigilantism to deal with the terror prevalent in his community.
Soldaat is a profoundly personal experience for Gordon and is more than just a theatre performance. One of the scenes reflects on a shooting incident in a taxi witnessed by a six year old boy. This is not a fictional account, but one from his own life that has left a deep impression. Only last week a taxi driver and his son were shot dead in Lavender Hill.
The relentless violence experienced on the Cape Flats has become a daily reality and the various initiatives from community dialogues to interventions by NGO’s seem futile. Nadir expresses his disappointment with bitterness.
While this is still a work in progress and requires development, the short piece shows great promise. It exposes the brutal reality in a truthful and unsentimental way. It would benefit from some pauses and a slowing down of Gordon’s monologues, which are delivered with a haste that detracts from the gravitas of his words. While the use of violence to combat violence is not glorified, the circumstances which drive people to such lengths can be easily understood. During the piece Gordon slips out of character and addresses the audience directly, questioning their inaction in the face of the crisis experienced in the predominantly coloured communities of Cape Town.
As Ephraim Gordon, the actor and concerned citizen he voices his concern and desperation. In character as Nadir, his frustration finds expression in the manufacture of petrol bombs and revenge attacks. A television set which flickers on and off, at times just providing the static of white noise is both a distraction and reminder of the almost domesticated nature of the violence.
Stories of gang leaders orchestrating murders from inside prison, the profits from drug deals funding school fees, forced prostitution and rape are not storylines in a TV soap opera but part and parcel of ordinary day to day life.
Gordon exits the stage hurriedly, leaving the audience with questions and an uneasy sense that there are no easy solutions.
At the very least though any action has to begin with a conversation and an acknowledgement of the problem. Jeptha and Gordon have made the opening move. Who will make the next?
The double bill launches the New Voices Programme at Artscape. Creative manager Mandla Mbothwe says that the role of the program is to resuscitate the essence and depth of our nation through excellence of theatrical performances of our stories that are a total reflection of our society. These are voices of our common narratives and of individuals who have been deprived of resources and dignity.
Performances are not limited to theatre, but incorporate dance, spoken word and any other theatrical style. The programme recognizes all forms of storytelling with an emphasis on merit rather than the theatrical style of the language.
Applications for the 2016 programme close on February 14 (e-mail projadmin2@artcapetheatre .co.za).
l Tickets are R80, www.com puticket.com