(Pic: Bhoyi Ngema and Khanisile Sibongile)Committed Artists Theatricals and the Drama and Performance Studies Programme of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus will present The Dictionary.
The Dictionary is based on an actual incident and was developed into an idea for a play by Bhoyi Ngema and the late Mpho Ngcobo. It tells the story of a young woman, MaMbhekeni, who is wife to her late father’s friend Mkhonto we Zinsizwa Mkhize through an arranged marriage. They live in rural poverty and she uses a dictionary to teach her children English. When BabaMkhize tries to sell the dictionary to purchase medicine for Skeyman, the ancestral bull, this leads to a clash between modern and traditional values within the family.
The theme of culture clash addressed in the story is also explored in the style of playing which mixes elements of realism with traditional storytelling. Madala Kunene as the Masikandi provides a musical soundtrack for the entire play, providing narration and adding moments of magical realism to the storytelling.
Mbongeni Ngema and Bhoyi Ngema approached Christopher Hurst to work on developing the script. This led to collaboration between Committed Artists Theatricals and the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the opportunity for students in Drama and Performance Studies programme to participate in the project.
The play will be performed in an isiZulu version for two performances followed by two performances in a ‘creolized’ version of isiZulu and English. This is intended to provide access to the play to an audience of non-isiZulu speakers while maintaining a theatrical truth about the play’s context. This experiment with language is inspired by similar experiments conducted by theatre-makers in Zimbabwe and Nigeria. It is a response to the commercial imperative of reaching a wider audience as well as further exploring the theme of cultural clash.
Performances in IsiZulu take place on April 29 at 12h00 and 19h30. Mbongeni Ngema, Director of Committed Artists Theatricals and President of KZN Music House, and Professor Joseph Ayee, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Humanities, will both give a short address before the evening performance on April 29.
Performances in English/ isiZulu take place on April 30 and May 1 at 19h30 in the Square Space Theatre, Howard College Campus, UKZN. Tickets R30 (R20 students and pensioners) booked through Claudette Wagner (between 08h30 and 15h30) on 031 260 3133, fax 031 260 1410 or e-mail: wagnerc1@ukzn.ac.za
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