PATRONS interested in dance, strong visual statements and powerful vocals will not want to miss Abaphantsi, a dance production that revolves around the idea of unspoken narratives and how words are not always enough to tell a difficult story.
Co-created by Sonja Smit, Siya Mbambaza and Jen Schneeberger, the production will be presented at The Barn in the Port Elizabeth Opera House from today, October 24 to Saturday, October 27.
A solo dancer, Mbambaza, responds to a voice, Schneeberger, that lies beyond the physical world, as he begins to construct some sense from the debris of his past, telling a personal story in a highly atmospheric theatrical landscape.
Schneeberger, Mbambaza and Smit were all at one point affiliated with the Rhodes Drama Department and the First Physical Theatre Company in Makhanda (Grahamstown).
Their work has been performed on various platforms, such as the National Arts Festival, Spier Contemporary, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees and the Dance Umbrella.
Teaming up in Port Elizabeth this year, these three distinctive creatives have collaborated to create a work that speaks to the human need to process and make sense of the past, particularly, the challenging but important relationship between the living and the deceased.
The inspiration for Abaphantsi was drawn from T.S Eliot’s, The Hollow Men, a poem dealing with spirituality and trauma.
A haunting score, composed by Kendal Beadon, an accomplished local musician, accompanies the work adding texture and depth to the emotionally compelling landscape of the performance.
The show starts at 19:00 daily and on Saturday, October 27, there’s also a 14:00 show. A cash bar will also be available at the Ideas Corner (upper foyer) and the sweet counter at the ground floor (open an hour before the show begins and after the show).
Admission fee is R100 (single), R150 (double) and R50 (students and pensioners).
For bookings contact Cingiwe Skosana at cingiwe.skosana@ gmail.com or Nomgcobo Mkize at nomgcobomkize@gmail.com.
