(Above: Pic of the cast by
Val Adamson)
A Paean to Courage,
Resilience and Fortitude (Review by Charlotte Fairfax)
Durban University of Technology presents a fresh, stylised interpretation of Gibson Kente’s Too Late, to remind us of the universality of pain, loss and courage.
At the heart of every war; every broken society; every country on the cusp of chaos, are wailing mothers, bumbling bureaucrats, heartless military, dying children, threadbare morality and the ambivalence of faith.
Director Sikhuthali Oliver Bonga, ably supported by Mduduzi Mtshali and Mandisa Mngoma (choreography); Zenneth Cibane (music) and Dinga Mpiti (design) have together skilfully created a deeply moving, beautifully crafted, deft and bold reinterpretation of Gibson’s Kente’s Too Late - his quintessentially South African parable, penned in 1975.
The production features a huge cast of almost 60 disciplined and focused performers, in an elegant, minimalistic, slick staging of the iconic township play. The story is told through spoken word; dance; movement; physical theatre; acapella songs and beautifully-rendered hymns.
Four simple stand-alone panels on wheels, with rough corrugated iron detail, are moved around to create the performance spaces. The chorus of men and women all wear black dresses, representing the shared grief experienced by nameless women in mourning. In war, and in politics, the heroes, the men, have names and identity. The women hover in the shadows: avatars of the disenfranchised, silent observers of the human condition – all under the watchful eye of three large, suspended crosses.
Their eyes of the black clad “women” are smudged with kohl, their lips painted ruby red – part African Gothic, part steampunk, part Pierrot - the sad, silent Commedia dell’ arte clown, who hides his true feelings behind a mask.
The world the characters inhabit is defined by the quest for Courage against the backdrop of dodgy playground deals, alcohol abuse, unemployment, broken families, Dompass inspections, unnecessary violence, land appropriation …. and the constant search for God.
Central to the story is Madinto a shebeen queen whose calmness and maternal love represents the dignity of black womanhood amid fear and oppression. She protects those she loves, to her own detriment. She is portrayed by two actresses (Lusanda Miya and Amahle Mngadi); as is her nephew, Saduva (Simphiwe Khanyile and Tshwarelo Seero), reinforcing the universality of their characters. She runs the tavern with a friend, Totozi (Nandipha Gumede) a young woman searching for a better life and a decent job.
In contrast to Madinto’s generosity of spirit, are gangs of overall-wearing radical young thugs who terrorise the neighbourhoods and represent all that is bad about an unhealthy society out of balance. On the other hand, church leaders (Simphiwe Zondo and Sbongiseni Maphumulo) consistently try and remind their disillusioned flock of the existence of a benign and caring God.
There are three narrators (Silindile Ngwabe, Thokomela Jele, Akhona Dumakude) – three female cap-wearing feisty crones who observe all; occasionally interact with other characters and the audience; and add an otherworldliness to the proceedings. One is never quite sure what is real and what is not; where the stage starts and where the audience ends.
In his programme notes, the director explains: “The play embodies what Kente termed “angry theatre”—a balance between cultural sympathy and defiant critique of apartheid. Historically, Too Late was censored and banned by the apartheid state, with Kente himself arrested in 1976. Yet its legacy endures as a cornerstone of South African protest theatre, often credited with igniting the cultural flame that contributed to the Soweto Uprising. Its exploration of human interest, community solidarity, and resistance continues to resonate in post-apartheid reflections on theatre and society.”
What is evident is that the story talks to a time and place much bigger than Apartheid-era South Africa. It could just as easily represent any time throughout history, anywhere in the world. Especially now in a world in crisis, as the Middle East tentatively considers peace, the play is a study of the intersection between God, power and the people.
Beautiful, challenging and complex – Too Late gives us food for thought. It may not be too late, as the title suggests, but I think we are a few minutes away from midnight. There is an urgency to learn from the mistakes of history if we want to survive. We are left wondering if a calm, peaceful harmonious world could ever be possible.
The students are second year students. The piece is an examination for their performance techniques 2B module. - Charlotte Fairfax
The play runs at the Courtyard Theatre at the Durban
University of Technology for two more performances – tonight and tomorrow (16
& 17 October) at 18h00.
Free entry. The play runs at ninety minutes, no interval.
Limited off-road parking
No under 16s.
For more information contact Bawinile at 031 373 2194 or email: BawinileM1@dut.ac.za
Trigger Warning: Contains strong language and scenes of violence
A Paean is a hymn of
praise and thanksgiving
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