Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Restorative ancestral tales
National Arts Festival from July 3-5 – in tandem with the launch of the book of the same name – the production will be on at Artscape from July 27-30. Original music is by Hilton Schilder and choreography by Alfred Hinkel. The docu-film is in production. In the play, Elizabeth “Betjie” Petersen, anti-apartheid journalist, finds herself on a path of discovery when “she responds to an ancestral calling to explore the almost forgotten world of her ancestors”.
“The character (of Elizabeth) in the play is based on my own story,” said Vollenhoven. “But for the theatre we needed to make some artistic leaps. However, the essence of the narrative – the focus of this story of loss and redemption, remains the same. The play is a dialogue between the modern character based on my story and //Kabbo.
“In the book I delve more deeply into how his poems and stories in the Bleek Lloyd archive have opened my eyes and helped me see myself and my place in the world differently. If you’re coloured, it says nothing about who you are and where you come from. If you’re a Bushman descended from visionaries who left a rich legacy of stories and folklore, you have a valuable place in the world. It’s moving from a narrative of denial and suppression to one of redemp- tion and belonging. The power of a story and storytellers is hugely underestimated.
“When people grow up consuming the stories, especially the lies, of others they become disabled. They become ill in many different ways. But there are story-(kumm) keepers. //Kabbo is a Keeper of the Kumm. These are people and ancestral spirits who ensure that the stories that are essential to our well-being live on.”
Vollenhoven is mindful of not dismissing Lloyd and Bleek.” The past is what it is. This was a very different time. I guess if //Kabbo had not found Bleek and Lloyd nobody would have listened to a Bushman hunter, guerilla fighter and visionary-turned-storyteller.
“My job as a writer and storyteller who connects deeply with //Kabbo’s story is to help people understand how much we miss when we exclude people or minimise their roles. The Bleek-Lloyd archive is hugely valuable. However, in the play we’ve reduced their role greatly. //Kabbo’s story has helped me understand how much of my own history is missing from the narrative that shaped me; helped me see how disabled I have become as a result.”
Tickets for the festival season (July 3-5) R75 at www.nationalarts festival.co.za Tickets for Artscape season (July 27-30) R100.