By Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 25 July 2018)
The
theatrical production of ‘Sarafina’ that we saw this past weekend at Kenya
National Theatre wasn’t a revival of the original live musical by South African
playwright Mbongeni Ngeme which made it all the way to Broadway in New York.
Nor was it
the film version of the original tale about that historic moment when in 1976
the youth of Soweto rose up and literally rocked the Apartheid regime at its
roots.
Nor was it
even like the 2004 Kenyan interpretation of the original show, the cast of
which came to see Nairobi Performing Arts Studio’s interpretation of Sarafina last
Saturday night.
But what
that version did was to take the actual history and set it in a context meant
to make the story relevant both to the past and the present day when freedom is
still ‘coming tomorrow’ for many people of color the world over, including in South
Africa.
All four
versions of Sarafina are grounded in the actual history of that moment when the
children rebelled against Apartheid and played a fundamental role in ultimately
bringing down that oppressive racist regime. It was also grounded in the young
people’s affection for their absentee anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.
Yet anyone
watching the show over the last fortnight at KNT needed to recall that when the
script was first shaped, Mandela was still in prison and Apartheid was just as
violently racist as it ever had been.
Plus the Soweto
youth understood that being spoon-fed a curriculum fashioned by Afrikaners in
their language was next to useless in the wider world, so their burning schools down was not just an
act of resistance to the system. It was also a symbolic deed mean to show the
State that what they wanted was a real education.
What was
stunning about the NPAS production was its mixture of dreamy romanticism and
violent realism. It was a mix that got impeded a bit by technical flaws in
Saturday’s show, especially in terms of sound since there was a bit we couldn’t
hear, either because the microphones were too far from the cast or the music
overwhelmed the actors’ speech.
The choral renditions
of much-loved songs were excellent as was the choreography. But parents should
have been advised not to bring their babies to this show since it was far more
violent than anticipated and kids (in the front rows especially) loudly
complained.
Director
Stuart Nash clearly went for realism when he allowed the ‘Torturer’ (Gilad
Millo) to literally water-board Teacher (Mkamzee Mtawali) on stage. Indeed,
with the children in the audience, I too was scared for the actor’s health and
safety since the ‘home guard’ equivalents’ appeared painfully powerful. Plus the
riots resulted in actual ‘murders’ on stage, which was disturbing not only to
the Torturer who took revenge for his lackey Saboti’s (Patrick Oketch) murder
by ‘killing’ Teacher and several student leaders as well as torturing Sarafina
before our eyes.
For me what
made those painful performances both poignant and powerful came at the end of
the show when cast members stood up and recited moments in history that
reflected on people’s resistance not only to the racism of the apartheid regime
but to the racism that still oppresses people of color worldwide as for
instance, when neo-Nazis and other white supremacists preach hate speech in
this day and age.
Sarafina (Elsie Akinyi) with Teacher (Mwamzee Mtawali) and Crocodile (Fanuel Mulwa with students praying for Mandela and freedom
So while the
NPAS production of Sarafina was radically different from what audiences might
have expected, its message resonates much further than anticipated since the
formal system of Apartheid may be gone, but the challenge of achieving racial
equity is still alive and apparent to this day. That is why one must appreciate
the sacrifices that not only Nelson Mandela made (celebrations of the centenary
of Mandela’s birth were thoughtfully timed to coincide with the NPAS show), but
also the selfless sacrifices that the courageous youth of Soweto made. That was
for me the resounding message of this truly memorable production of Sarafina.
The good
news is that the show is likely to come back to Kenya Cultural Centre quite
soon. Many thanks to KCC for producing this original interpretation of the
South African modern classic.
Stuart Nash, director of Sarafina and Artistic Director of Kenya Cultural Centre and Nairobi Performing Arts Studio
Stuart Nash, director of Sarafina and Artistic Director of Kenya Cultural Centre and Nairobi Performing Arts Studio
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