MOB FEEL & PRIVY

The two National Arts Festival student shows from UKZN are to be staged as a double bill for one performance only in the Hexagon Studio Theatre in Pietermaritzburg on July 26. The award-winning Mob Feel from Pietermaritzburg and Privy from Durban were both well received at the festival, Kline Smith (director of Mob Feel) won the awards for Best Director and Best Writer.

Mob Feel: Two robust Storytellers (TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande) mesh the age-old traditions of storytelling with physical theatre to create an intimate revisiting of the incidences of gang violence and ethnic rivalry that took place in the township of Westbury, Johannesburg, in the 1950s. A young girl (Pertunia Msani) carefully observes the Storytellers as they weave the narratives of the past. She attempts to speak but is restrained, until finally her silence is substituted with fury. Live music throughout by Mércio Langa enhances the feel of the play.

The performance is a love-story about violence and passion, about Linga, a Xhosa, and Mapula, a Sotho, (a Lethebele and a Russian!) forbidden by rival families to exchange even the slightest of glances. Evocative, vivid and poetic language and imagery is used to articulate the detrimental effects of mob mentalities and township violence, and the dangers of losing one’s sense of individual feeling and responsibility when caught up in a mob feeling.

Privy: In a country like South Africa, we negotiate our way through various cultures, languages, races and beliefs, but it is often difficult to find a common ground. One thing most of us share is our use of that most inconspicuous, yet highly private object, the toilet. Privy aims to explore South Africans in relation to the toilet, looking at how it can be used for recreation, oppression and alleviation of burdens. Using a range of performance styles and influenced by different genres, the show presents a part of the South African story as experienced by ordinary citizens. Written and directed by Bronwyn Botha and Jason Barber.

Mob Feel and Privy runs at the Hexagon Studio Theatre, UKZN in Pietermaritzburg on July 26 at 18h00. Tickets R50 (R25 for seniors/students) at the door only.