(Sandi Dlangalala in a
dramatic scene from the play. Pic by Mia van der Merwe)
Presented
by the Schlesinger Theatre at Michaelhouse and created by Tristan Jacobs and the cast, Hanamichi is a
non-verbal, visual theatre, masterfully combining Japanese traditional theatre
with Afro-European storytelling; based on The
Thought Fox by Ted Hughes.
This piece
is a hybrid, a dialogue between Western and Eastern theatre forms. It explores
the isolation, boredom and imagination that all fluctuate in the creative
process of writing. The work is dedicated to all those who have ever tried
putting pen to paper.
Stylistically
Afro-Asian, with costumes designed by the local clothing label Lady Jane Designs,
the play is aesthetically rewarding – using simple props and set to tell the
tale of “getting the words out.” Ironically the words are missing throughout
the play; expression is instead delivered through physicality, puppetry,
mask-work and inventive lighting.
The theatre
is transformed into a Butai, reinventing the traditional Noh stage (traditional
Japanese theatre). It displays artwork that moves through traditional Japanese
print to comic-book manga via Visual Poetry.
Welcome to
a collaborative event that is magically inquisitive, imaginative storytelling
performed on the Axis Mundi – that liminal space where reality shifts and
warbles with each breath.
The
production is supported by the Department of Arts & Culture’s Mzansi Golden
Economy Grant.
Hanamichi runs at
the Schlesinger Theatre at Michaelhouse on January 29 and 30 at 19h30. Tickets: R80 booked via email through Mrs Angela Jonsson at theatre@michaelhouse.org
or call 033 234 1314 (from April 21 - Weekdays between 08h00
and 13h00)
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