(Pic: Bhoyi Ngema and Khanisile Jwaha)Engaging, compelling – and often highly amusing - story sees excellent performances at Square Space Theatre. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Presented by Mbongeni Ngema’s Committed Artists Theatricals and the Drama and Performance Studies Programme of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus, The Dictionary is a one-act play with excellent performances by well-known actor Bhoyi Ngema, second-year KZN theatre arts student Khanyisile Jwaha and legendary guitarist Madala Kunene.
It is based on an actual incident and was developed into an idea for a play by Bhoyi Ngema and the late Mpho Ngcobo. With initial seed funding and rehearsal space provided by Stable Theatre, the play went on to garner support from the National Arts Council and Fay Productions.
Mbongeni Ngema then approached Dr Christopher John (stage name Christopher Hurst) from UKZN to establish a collaboration between Committed Artists and the university, this providing a learning opportunity for the Theatre Arts students. With a script written by Bhoyi Ngema and Christopher John (the latter also directs) and supported by music and lyrics by Madala Kunene, the result is the engaging, compelling - and often highly-amusing - story of BabaMkhize (Ngema) and his wife MaMbhekeni (Jwaha) and their individual associations with a dictionary.
BabaMkhize and his wife live a traditional life – dominant male, subservient female – but there is a growing influence in MaMbhekeni’s life in the form of a dictionary given to her by her employer, Mr Porter. BabaMkhize is in a quandary: his chief has requested his presence to assist him in a project while his wife wants him to go to his cousin for advice in treating Skeyman, the ancestral bull.
Bhoyi Ngema provides the right touch as the inflexible husband, his strength coming to the fore in the dramatic scenes. Khanyisile Jwaha is a delight – charming, with that quality of stillness that is so important when performing a character of depth. Moments of quiet without speech make for powerful theatre if handled correctly and there are several such moments in The Dictionary, particularly when BabaMkhize searches his home with his eyes looking for appropriate items to sell to pay for the necessary medication for Skeyman.
There are three stand-out sections involving the dictionary – the first being an enchanting scene when MaMbhekeni explains to her three children what a dictionary is all about. Then things start to go wrong when she defies her husband and, in a fit of fury, BabaMkhize sees the book as an embodiment of Mr Porter and tries to destroy it. The third is when she sits her husband down to show him how the dictionary can provide him with the answer to a burning question and he gets to realise its value, albeit from the point of view of commercial gain.
Throughout the play, Madala Kunene provides a sensitive underscore narration as well as acting out the voices of the children as well as the voice of the dictionary! The effective set design is by Sacha Knox and Jason Barber, with sensitive lighting by Rogers Ganesen.
At Square Space, the play has had two performances in an isiZulu version 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 its 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. “
In the play’s closing moments, Madala Kunene provides a thought-provoking look at what has gone before. As Christopher John explains: “You need modernity but the psychic and spiritual cost is often too high.”
There’s one more performance in English/ isiZulu tomorrow night (May 1) at 19h30 in the Square Space Theatre, Howard College Campus, UKZN. Tickets R30 (R20 students and pensioners) at the door. Try not to miss this one although I strongly believe it will make its presence felt on a wider theatre circuit and at arts festivals very soon. – Caroline Smart
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