(Pic by Val Adamson: Kivithra Naicker, Tamika Sewnarain and Xolile Gumede)Collaboration between DUT and UKZN tackles the intimacies of life in conflicted times. (Review by Shika Budhoo)
This project saw the collaboration between two major drama departments in Durban. The strengths of two reputable faculties guided their students from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and the students of The University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (UKZN). Co-directors of the project, Tanya van der Walt and Tamar Meskin from the above institutions respectively, gave speeches at the opening.
Being a UKZN alumni myself and having studied under the guidance of both ladies, I was wonderfully reminded of my varsity days and specific lectures immediately came to mind as I listened to two woman who have shaped my own understanding of theatre during a crucial time for my artistic and academic growth. I mention this about my connection to the directors (lecturers) because, as a former student who participated in various projects of this nature, I experienced the piece, nostalgic of my student life and the commitment and courage student productions create. It is a personal experience for me and I feel fitting to mention, as Frontlines, tackles the intimacies of life in conflicted times.
In the current financial crisis, many of us daily feel the pressures of the current social, political and economic climate. Van der Walt and Meskin, along with the student cast, workshopped the piece highlighting the personal plights of war victims. Victims with voices represented across the continents, the common link, ‘the throes of war and its consequences’ on all and sundry. Represented were soldiers and their mothers, brothers, friends, sisters, lovers and children; prisoners of war and the ghosts of lives spared from the decline of the social, political and economic reality of their individual societies that united them in pain.
Frontlines which had a previous run in September 2009, returned to open on March 20 with a shorter script and an adjusted cast, due to the absence of graduating students. In the opening speeches Tanya van der Walt explained the tension that occurred at the first session of the workshopping process. Van der Walt and Meskin spent time abroad researching the project. The result: a large pile of accounts from the wars that have plagued the world and overwhelmed its people. The workshopping process began and the directors agreed that the cast, at first visibly split and tense, worked toward and achieved the objective of coming together as an ensemble.
Postmodern in its representation, Frontlines has no singular narrative but rather various components that linked under the banner of ‘war’. The ideology of ‘the personal is political’ immediately rung as a central theme, as individual accounts in the form of letters, poetry and monologues were delivered by the performers dressed in camouflage. Audiovisuals aided the messages intended, at times linking to the spoken word, the sung word, as well as the movement pieces that were included in the telling of many tragic tales. An interesting choice of music, with songs from different genres and decades, added to the jarring effect of the subject matter.
The cast worked as a unit and some looked nervous, probably opening night jitters. Other cast members stood out with a unique presence that filled the stage with the exact energy and emotion required for the delicate subject matter at hand.
I thought the narratives chosen were amazing stories and the songs were sung with brilliant skill and passion. Even though the material was encapsulating, I found at times the craving for the individual characters’ actual voices to be heard, with accents and physical varieties. Although with the neutralization of the accent, the idea of the ‘one voice’ of ‘everyman’ worked in its own way, my craving for characters did not cease. Frontlines is separated into chapters, chronicles and meditations; which travel the journeys of war: enrolment, training, waiting, fighting, doubting, winning and losing, longing, dying, returning, remembering and eventually culminating in the idea of a ‘new map of the world’ and the personal choices of individuals faced with the cruelties of war first-hand or at a distance. This ending tied in with the first images projected on the screen of current and older maps of the world. A world shaped by a history written by ordinary men and built on the strengths of its people. People who achieve strength from personal suffering from wars local and global.
Frontlinesis currently running at DUT’s Courtyard Theatre until March 25 at 19h30 (Tuesday at 20h30). Tickets R20. To book or for more information call Lebohang at 031 373 2194. - Shika Budhoo
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