Amongst
Men is written by Aphiwe Namba and directed by
award-winning Durban-based playwright Menzi Mkhwane who is working as the
production’s producer as well as four other plays set to be staged over the
next couple of months.
The play features award winning Durban
based actor Sbusiso Ngcobo who does a follow up solo performance after Menzi
Mkhwane’s short run of Last Cow Standing
at the Bat centre.
Amongst
Men is an intelligently crafted piece of
storytelling that uses humour, cleverly constructed scenes and skilful
characterization to reflect the state of South Africa and its broken humanity.
“I love working with Sbusiso on Namba’s work.
I think it has been long overdue. Namba is crafty, witty and often very
poignant in the way that he cleverly weaves in a deep sense of understanding in
the middle of the most simple of scenes in his writing. He is a natural writer
who deserves as much respect as the work he puts into each word he crafts in
his stories. I have constantly spoken about the fact that I want to break away
from the agendas of the older generation in the arts and build new bridges that
help us younger artists explore our own stories and now it is time to realise
those words,” says Mkhwane.
Mkhwane loves creating and staging but this
year he has felt that audiences in Durban need more plays on a more consistent
basis being provided to them at a consistently high level of quality. That has
been the outcry. Audiences don’t get to see enough plays. So providing more
stories has become the main focus for Mkhwane and his team.
Aphiwe Namba has been a gift to the theatre
industry in his ability to churn out so many stories at a consistent level of
quality. Mkhwane partnering with Namba has provided the best platform to
provide this value for Durban audiences. Namba’s next three plays will be
directed by Mkhwane which will be staged over the next couple of months.
These include Babazile (A short comedy), Us
Against Them (a political thriller set in exile) and Khotha I-Pani (a one man show Zulu comedy featuring Mkhwane as the
performer)
In Amongst
Men; Sbusiso Ngcobo plays a whopping 10 distinct characters on his own;
that take an audience into deep rural KZN and other places where Fasimba the
healer deals with the spiritual ills of black communities and their dying
spirituality. Ngcobo uses his body, voice and imagination to bring the audience
into the world of the downtrodden rural outback which he represents and
portrays in a highly nuanced way.
Fasimba with his ancestral power of healing
also takes the audience on a journey into a day in his life. He journey to the
family of Sikhakhane which he has been called to heal causes him to reveal more
about his character, his thoughts, dilemmas as he unpacks his healing charms.
Fasimba comments on the state of South Africa; how the real sickness has
captured not the body but the spirit. It talks about a social and moral
reawakening that needs to take place for the black nation in particular and
South Africa at large.
Amongst
Men runs from August 28 to September 1, 2018, at
19h00 nightly at the BAT Centre. Tickets R100 purchased at the door.
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