Provocative take on South End
A PROVOCATIVE production filled with dance, song, poetry and drama opens tonight at the South End Museum for a two-night run.
The National Arts Council and Port of Expression Dance Company presents Port of Site: A Visual Scape of the Unseen at the museum at 7pm tonight and tomorrow.
Port Elizabeth dancer and choreographer Levern Botha, who has choreographed the piece, says it is “original, provocative physical theatre”.
In making Port of Site, she has worked with director and co-devisor Jen Schneeberger, co-conceptualiser Robert Haxton and singer and actress Siki Qwazi, all of who are from Rhodes University’s drama department, where they have worked with seasoned professionals like theatre maestro Andrew Buckland.
She said the production was site-specific and she chose the venue in South End to highlight stories from cultural histories of Port Elizabeth like the Group Areas Act and the death in detention of George Botha, whose widow is a trustee of the South End Museum.
“I’m not using the stage, but the display room upstairs to give a more intimate feel,” Botha said, noting that less-than-perfect acoustics, and the need for innovative lighting and sound were as- pects the crew had to work on this week. “It’s been quite a journey!”
Port of Site aims to challenge perception through a narrative told from the point of view of a blind journalist named Lettie, played by Lelethu “PoeticSoul” Mahambehlala in a particularly relevant piece of casting.
“I met Lelethu in March last year but only found out in October that she was without her sight,” Botha said. “That really inspired me.”
Lettie arrives in the harbour of Port Elizabeth to document the story of a father and daughter, Jo played by Sandiswa Zuma and Sienna, played by Botha, whose lives are deeply linked to the sea.
Qwazi creates the soundscape with original compositions by Schneeberger, while Botha and Zuma are the dancers.
“Port of Site will gently encourage audiences to view possible controversial subject matter from new and varied angles which is why there is an age recommendation of 10 years and older,” Botha said. “It explores extraordinary physical, vocal and emotional challenges and how events and circumstances can lead to welcome changes.”
Port of Site is tonight and tomorrow at 7pm. Admission is R80 for the public and R60 for students.
For more information contact Levern Botha at 062-872-8372 or leverrn@yahoo.com