SANTA’S STORY Original memoir research by Gwynne Robbins, edited by Gabi Sulcas. Adapted for the stage by Aviva Pelham and Janice Honeyman. With Aviva Pelham. Directed by Janice Honeyman, with Matthew Reid (clarinet and sax), Nicky Jansen (keyboard, guitar, flute and accordion) and Petri Sakonen (Violin). Design by Dicky Longhurst. Lighting Design by Mannie Manim.At Theatre on the Bay until Sunday. TRACEY SAUNDERS reviews
IF THE posters around town have had you confused and wondering why a story about Santa is being told in February rest assured that this is not an ill timed Christmas show. The Santa of this story was named for a Saint and is the mother of one of Cape Town’s most loved opera singers Aviva Pelham.
Santa’s Story is her story and the story of all refugees who continue to flee from hatred and tyranny in search of peace and a better life. The decision to record the story of her mother’s incredible journey was the genesis for this musical evening of memories. The journey begins in Germany when Santa was born on March 26, 1918 to the only Jewish family in the village of Berrenrach. The idyll of Santa’s childhood is disturbed by early anti-Semitic behaviour and the humiliation experienced by the young girl is retold with a poignancy that resonates across the years.
Following her father’s imprisonment and in the face of legislated discrimination against the Jewish population Santa and her mother fled Germany. Thus began their desperate travels across Europe from France to Spain in a bid to survive. Music is the one constant in the young woman’s life. Upon moving to Paris she is enchanted by the French chansons. The deft styling of the show transports her from the back roads of Germany to the cabaret stages of Paris with only a few props and the audience is given a taste of the undiminished clarity of her voice as recordings of her renditions of La Vie en Rose and This is my lovely day, made when she was 89 are played during the performance.
The stirring notes of the Klezmer music played live on stage weaves through the show with its quintessential joyous nostalgia and provides the perfect accompaniment to Pelham’s voice. She recounts the milestones in Santa’s life as she is betrothed to a young Jewish man based in what was then Salisbury ,Rhodesia. Despite her trepidation she undertakes the long voyage by sea to meet Jacques.
Their original encounter in a train carriage is an amusing one and the laughter which begins their relationship is evident in the photographs of the couple which are projected on to the stage. The early years of their marriage are not without their anguish however but Santa and her beloved Jack overcome their heartache and are blessed with children and grandchildren.
The stage is set with a collection of suitcases and each one accompanies Santa on the various stages of her travels. Each suitcase denotes a different leg of her journey and is just one of the skilfully chosen props of the simple yet very effective set design. These days even suitcases are a luxury for many refugees and for those fleeing conflict in Africa the quintessential red and blue striped plastic carrier has become a familiar sight. Often referred to as the “Ghana must go” after they were used by immigrants expelled by Ghana between the 1960s and 1980s the familiar trope is associated with refugees the world over. While the show is very much a story of the past it remains relevant in a world where thousands flee their homes every day. Santa’s triumph is a reminder of the resilience and courage of refugees and their fortitude in the face of overwhelming hardship.
The final moments of the show are both inspiring and heart wrenching and I shan’t spoil the magic of the denouement here .Suffice to say that the clichéd “not a dry eye in the house” is the most apt description of the audience’s experience.
Santa Pelham, now 96, has dedicated her memoir to her parents and brother who perished in the Holocaust. Elie Wiesel once said “I decided to devote my life to telling the story because I felt that having survived I owe something to the dead and anyone who does not remember betrays them again.” Pelham’s poignant remembering honours not only her own family but those of the millions that suffered the same fate.
Santa’s Story has not escaped international attention and has been invited to be part of the First International Folksbiene Yiddish Festival in New York in June. Due to public demand two additional performances have been added on February 14 at 5.30pm and February 15 at 7.30pm.
l Tickets: R95 to R135, 0861 915 8000.