Yawazzi Fish Tank

We’re in a darkened theatre. The audience is hushed and intent, the only light is the soft orange glow from Mathew’s headlamp. His character is determined, and so close to his final goal. He climbs upward and the stage lights build. His expression changes to wonder and triumph as he reaches the top, throws his arms wide and shouts out, “You can see forever!” And our audience can’t wait til the end of the play – they start cheering now.

2 years ago we scraped together borrowed money to take a show to the Grahamstown National Arts Festival Fringe. The play was about a boy and his grandfather; they lived at the bottom of a giant tree that had grown so large it had covered the whole world. It was about the boy’s journey to see the sky for the first time, just like his grandfather had when he was a boy.

I didn’t realise at the time how closely our own journey would mirror the boy’s.

We lost most of that borrowed investment, but we didn’t lose faith in the play. The people who saw it loved it passionately, loved it enough to give us good advice on how to improve it and take it further. It’s because of them that we’ve been able to keep performing it and making sure that every time we performed it, it was a better show.

It was the support of Yvette Hardie that got us here – the Ishyo Arts Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, guests at the first annual KINA Theatre Festival for Children. Kigali is an amazing city and we were treated so graciously and generously by our hosts Carole and Lilliane that we never wanted to leave.

Kigali is a city of contrasts – dense clusters of buildings and open spaces where plantains, cassava or tobacco is grown, tall villas sandwich humble clay brick houses between their ostentatious gates and 5 metre high print ads for MTN compete for space with hand painted murals advertising the local beers. The endless hills of the country hide the full extent of the city and every trip around town offers new views of the bustling suburbs of Kigali.

But the greatest contrast of all is between the bloody the history of the place and the people we met. Optimistic and independent, the Rwandese welcomed us and proudly showed off their city. Their hospitality and their easy trust was what truly won us over. This was the first time our company had toured to another country, our trepidation melted away and although only one of our party spoke French and the play is in English, we had no problem. Theatre is understood across borders and cultures. Even though the play is a family show, it is mostly about death and trying to find a connection to the past. In Kigali we were playing to an audience that knew all about that, who knew more about it than I will ever know. It was daunting, terrifying. But they got it.

On our journey we’ve experienced all the lows, been left uncertain. But we’ve had our highs. I will never forget the moment in that hall in Kigali when the audience cheered for the boy. That moment was 2 years in the making and it was worth every step of the journey.

You can see Under the Stars, Above the Tree in Cape Town from the 21st, to the 23rd of January, starting at 8:30 P.M at Tabula Rasa, which is located on 140 Upper Canterbury, cnr Glynn str. Gardens. Tickets cost R70 for adults, and R40 for students. Bookings can be made by calling 072 112 1566 or emailing bookings@yawazzi.com.

At this year’s National Arts Festival, I went to see a production entitled Ma Ravan (a review from a Cape Town performance here, done by Theatre Talipot from the Reunion Islands. It was a stunning performance. I did not find it a play, with a clear storyline or dialogue, but more an incredible stirring collection of physical and aural images. The combination of these two, together with the raw performances of the four actors/musicians/dancers, took you on an emotional journey that did not need comprehension. It was uncomplicated and powerful and almost trance-like. The moment in which one of the performers started playing the instrument (resembling a kora) tore plucked away at something inside me. It was the one of my two top shows at the Festival, and one of the best I have seen in my lifetime.

Coming back to Cape Town, I read that the company had moved on to Johannesburg to perform their show. In this press release, they also listed their previous productions, one of which caught my eye. It was called The Water Carriers (read a review here, and it had been performed around the world in the late 90s. I then remembered that I had seen this production as teenager living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1998 (I think). It had been performed at the Alliance Francaise, and the audience were all seated on the floor in this little hall (which I think had been the dining hall). It was my first time watching a play in that particular style – minimal props, use of live sound, strong physical performances, storytelling…and it was magic.

Looking back at it, I think it was the first time that I realized how magical the theatre space could be. Up until then I had watched plays rooted in realism and comedy shows, but this was the first time I had seen magic created on stage, where my imagination got activated and took me outside of my own world. And it did this without relying on text. It was quite an experience for a 16 year old. At that time, I am not even sure that drama was a strong interest or desire. I would like to think that in watching this work, my desire to work in theatre began.

The experience of Ma Ravan had scratched at that old memory of their first show that I saw. Honestly, I can’t say that I had thought much about The Water Carriers in the last few years, I had forgotten it. However, a link was made, a memory retrieved, and it made me realize why I am in this theatre world. In both cases, after watching their shows, one more than 10 years apart from the other, my reaction was the same. It also left me with the same desire: to create work that is as powerful as theirs.

Thank you Theatre Talipot.