Writer and actor, Bhekani Biyela
has created a biting and thought provoking physical drama titled Ants Job which forms part of the BlackOut
Festival taking place at the Courtyard Theatre. It is a behind-the-curtain look
at the dishonourable state of living for Somali women.
The play gives a picture of a
world bitter and still, a lethargic place of ambiguity. It presents the media
in somewhat contradictory manner; where on one hand it is a voice and a window
to the world, and on the other hand, it is an imperialist parasite that feeds
off grief and torment of the vulnerable. The concept of hope and hopelessness
appears in the fact that women who, though afraid and uncertain of their
situation, are prepared to walk, to wait for someone or something to bring
meaning and purpose to their lives.
What the women await is a sign
indicating that they have been relieved from the face of death and that there
will indeed be a tomorrow, a tomorrow absent from fear. This is a horrendous
tale, a journey of women from the land of their inheritance to a foreign
backyard fenced and barb-wired with terror. It seems they have exiled
themselves in an enemy's turf.
Ants Job runs from
December 1 to 4 at 18h00 at the Courtyard Theatre on the Durban University of
Technology's Steve Biko Campus. Admission ticket for the whole festival - R100
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