TIN BUCKET DRUM - REVIEW

 

(Above: Mpilo ‘Straw’ Nzimande & Cara Roberts. Pic by Val Adamson)

 

This is beautiful storytelling - evoking all the feels in all the right places - sensitively and intelligently directed, with fine actors, props and a fitting set; lighting and shadow puppetry. (Review by Shannon Kenny)

What sheer delight to watch this realisation of Neil Coppen’s Tin Bucket Drum as a two-hander with Cara Roberts and Mpilo ‘Straw’ Nzimande under the direction of Bryan Hiles.

Nandi (Roberts), a desperate, pregnant widow arrives to Tin Town and is taken in by uMkhulu (Nzimande). The people of Tin Town suffer through drought and silence and rhythmless fear under the weight of a tyrant. It is here that Nandi gives birth to our hero, Nomvula - the Little Drummer Girl - whose irrepressible spirit inspires the people of Tin Town and eventually liberates them from the clutches of tyranny and oppression, restoring light and rain and rhythm.

The story unfolds in a world that springs to life from a plywood stage flanked by a hessian screen and dotted with an array of metal buckets and sticks with a small, wooden table at centre.

Nzimande and Roberts’ versatility and skill are on fine display in this gripping piece of theatre. Our actors employ a range of devices and techniques - sometimes a scarf wrapped around the head or waist; the flick of a wrist or a raised eyebrow; arms akimbo or a mischievous grin; a mask, a hat, a menacing voice - as they sashay and dart effortlessly between their characters. 

One of the many joys of theatre and theatre-making is how the magic of it all can sometimes be found in how we draw the viewer into a scene and (artfully) reveal rather than conceal the mechanics, allowing our audience to see and hear and feel those transitions and transformations - how a mother's shawl becomes her wee baby; how a table doubles as an intimate family space and then equally, a tyrant’s daise. How a bucket can be uMkhulu’s seat and beating that same bucket becomes Nomvula’s clarion call. The sometimes gentle, sometimes clamorous use of the metal buckets and wooden sticks served the story well.

This is beautiful storytelling - evoking all the feels in all the right places - sensitively and intelligently directed, with fine actors, props and a fitting set; lighting and shadow puppetry.

In this project-partnership between industry professionals and the Higher Certificate (HC) students in the DUT Drama department, the HC students have had the most valuable opportunity to hone the technical skills acquired through the programme, to learn new ones and apply them working alongside industry professionals in a real-world festival setting. Clare Craighead is to be commended for her guidance and for being rightfully proud of her students who have shown themselves eager and capable apprentices.

Tin Bucket Drum will always be a fitting fable because, you know, human beings.

And for those who’ve ever wondered when is the right time to speak truth to power, Nomvula, our Little Drummer Girl, reminds us that the right time is always now. – Shannon Kenny

 

Lighting:  Lisa Goldstone

Set Design: & Construction: Nel van der Merwe

Set Construction Assistance and Technical Rigging: Lindokuhle Buthelezi, Sibongakonke Cele,

Khanyisani Chiliza, Sinenhlahla Dlamini, Wasipha Dlamuka, Andile Gwala, Sazi Hadebe,

Philela Mdleleni, Mlungisi Ndlovu, Yolanda Ngcobo, Thembelihle Sangweni, Simphiwe Shandu,

Zenani Tshabalala, Phelisa Xesibe & Nonhlahla Zwane

 

FoH:  Wasipha Dlamuka & Andile Gwala

Ushers:  Thembelihle Sangweni & Sinenhlahla Dlamini

Lighting:  Nonhlahla Zwane

Followspot: Philela Mdleleni & Phelisa Xesibe

Birdies: Zenani Tshabalala

Sound:  Sazi Hadebe

Stage Manager:  Simphiwe Shandu

Assistant Stage Managers/Shadow Puppetry:  Sibongakonke Cele, Lindokuhle Buthelezi,

Khanyisani Chiliza, Yolanda Ngcobo & Mlungisi Ndlovu