Retelling of Greek tragedy will resonate with South Africans today
THEATRE legends Andrew Buckland, Jennie Reznek and Faniswa Yisa steal the limelight at the Baxter as they bring to life the tragic tale of Greek king Oedipus.
In Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family.
Written by Qondiswa James and directed by Mark Fleishman, Oedipus at Colonus: #aftersophocles explores themes of time, ageing and dying.
The play was originally written by Sophocles at the end of his life when he was an old man facing his death.
In conversation with IOL Entertainment, Buckland, who plays Oedipus, said he cannot wait for South Africans to experience the exceptional storytelling that comes with the staging of Oedipus at Colonus: #aftersophocles.
Elaborating on his role, Buckland said: “And so, Oedipus, having gone through his life and fulfilled these terrible prophecies, where he killed his father and married his mother and had children with her and then having discovered this, he took his eyes out and banished himself into the wilderness.
“He’s come to a time when he needs to find a place to end his life but to make sure the legacy is finished. He’s looking to find a place where he can be buried, where he won’t be celebrated in any way.
“The play explores ideas of forgiveness and atonement and also very specifically the ideas of land and about right to land and permissions of land, as well as the ways in which actions from the past particularly violent actions, have consequences in the present.
“So in the South African context, it's fairly obvious that we are still at this stage, we are still experiencing the consequences of actions in the past.”
Buckland said while the original text focused on the tragic hero and his metaphoric journey through life, “In this production, the focus is less on the heroes, and much more on the chorus.
“In the original, the chorus plays the support role. In this production, the focus is much more on what is the quality of life. And what are the individuals who inhabit, the chorus, what is the reality for them? So, there’s quite an interesting conceptual swing in the way in which the work is produced.”
The chorus is played by graduates of the Magnet Theatre Full Time Training and Job Creation Programme who make up the Magnet Theatre Youth Company.
“They tell their stories through the body, text and a sonic landscape that haunts. The primary role, I suppose of any theatrical work is, to hold the audience’s attention and to engage them in a thoughtful and creative process. So, the work of the play and the directors is simply to construct work that stimulates the audience’s imagination.
“And I don’t think it’s something people have seen before. And working on it has been a very exciting and challenging project for me.”
On why he thinks the audience would enjoy the show, Buckland said: “Because it brings a wide range of theatrical techniques and resources together into a work, which really does unearth and draw one’s attention to what is happening in the country at the moment.
“There is a very strong sense of what is the current reality for people.
“In the original, Oedipus comes to a place and he says, ‘If I’m allowed to be buried here, there are great benefits for you. So this idea of people waiting for benefits resonates very strongly with people from ’94 still waiting.
“So many people waiting on the list for housing, for ownership of the land, for rights that were promised, you know, ‘A better life for all’. And that’s not always the case for many people.
“And so it’s really to examine what are people’s responses to that. What do we do with that as people living in the country today?”
Oedipus at Colonus: #aftersophocles will be staged at the Baxter Flipside from February 3 - 18. Tickets are available at Webtickets from R120.
JOBURG Dreamland
Where: Theatre on the Square. When: February 7 - 19. Dreamland is written by and performed by popular musician, theatre and TV personality, DuPreez Strauss.
Strauss invites audiences to experience some of their favourite childhood memories in a whole new way.
Showcasing world-class piano interpretations and storytelling, Strauss will take audiences on an enchanting musical journey that will include familiar works like Circle of Life, Let It Go, A Whole New World and Colours of The Wind.
For the last 14 years, Strauss has been co-music director and orchestra conductor for Disney’s The Lion King musical in eight countries.
DURBAN
The Chain – The Fleetwood Mac Story
Where: Rhumbelow Theatre. When: February 3 - 5.
The Fleetwood Mac Story is an episodic saga that spans more than 30 years, starting in 1967 as a British blues band that later became a California-based pop group in the mid ’70s
In between came a period when Fleetwood Mac shuffled personnel and experimented with styles, all the while releasing solid albums with charttopping hits.
Perhaps just as well known for their tangled relationships and addictions as they were for their music, Fleetwood Mac had massive success and can be found on every list of the world’s top-selling bands.
Mixing relationships and business can either be a disaster or lead to success. To date, Fleetwood Mac has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.
CAPE TOWN
Vincent – His Quest To Love And Be Loved
Where: The Drama Factory. When: February 17 - 19. Vincent is a multimedia cabaret, (Bronze Standard Bank Ovation Award 2022) that tells of a complex man, artist Vincent van Gogh, with a ruthless drive to create and a deep-seated desire to love and be loved.
Vincent’s search for love is told through re-imagined versions of popular musical theatre, pop, rock and jazz numbers. The 37-year-old painter died of a self-inflicted wound in 1890.
On May 15, 1990, The Portrait of Doctor Gachet was sold, within three minutes, for $75 million.