Nostalgia for ex-students as Pockets of Knowledge debuts in DUT“A simple story set in the typical African backdrop of a village. Inside this village two young boys witness an event that changes their lives. In the midst of this they continuously look for answers to the growing contentions in the village to their mentors: their late Chief Bab’Mantshongo and an exceptionally impactful teacher thishu’ Mazibuko.
Pockets of Knowledge was devised and is performed by Sabelo Ndlovu (23) and Menzi Mkhwane (22). Both freelance actors, they graduated Cum Laude at Durban University of Technology after studying drama.
In 2010, Sabelo Ndlovu co-wrote and directed Fragmented Prism! a student production which premiered in Grahamstown National Arts Festival. In the same year, Menzi Mkhwane – who is the son of celebrated theatre actor, creator and director Bheki Mkhwane - became one of four South Africans chosen to work in Holland as part of the Dutch production of Oliver Twist. He was introduced into the Durban theatre scene with Belly of the Beast which he performed alongside his father.
In the year 2011, the actors spent six months creating this piece of theatre that deals with a universal issue. “And of course what other denouement could we have obtained other than education?” they say. “We then visited high schools around Pietermaritzburg, Durban (city and the township) and other remote areas in the interior of KwaZulu-Natal. This formed an essential part of our research to identify what we as theatre creators call a conflict in society which can be communicated on stage. Having spoken to a number of educators, an IQMS consultant and reading books on the Pedagogical system of education we devised this simple yet intriguing piece of theatre called Pockets of Knowledge.”
The play is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission and the language is accessible to all as it contains no profanity. The pragmatic issues covered in the play are food for thought as they are of social relevance. The pair navigate topics such as teenage pregnancies, rape, poverty and lack of concentration in academically-challenged pupils.
The play looks at what happens to a community and its people when leadership is displaced. With education at the epicentre of the story, it shows how modern influences can submerge the principals of indigenous wisdom and how hunger thereafter turns in greed. There is minimal set and costume, the action being largely dependent on the actors’ use of their physical and vocal ability to transform and bring the different characters to life. The piece contains a surprisingly generous amount of humour as it does dramatic enticement.
The duo’s biggest challenge is funding in order to perform this play in theatres throughout South Africa. Their vision is also to partner with the Municipality and other stakeholders such as the Department of Arts and Living Culture and the Department of Education so that this entertaining yet educational theatrical play could be shared with students. Their ambition is to create theatre that is exciting, dazzling, intriguing and entices the imagination of the audience while representing the voice of their generation.
Pockets of Knowledge runs from June 11 to 15 at 19h00. It will be staged for the first time for a theatre audience at the DUT Art Gallery (Steve Biko campus above the library). Tickets at the door R30 Monday to Thursday (R25 on Friday). Bookings on 072 716 7950 or 083 382 6054.
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