Lifting lid on ‘Saints’
Eye-opening play examines the all-boys’ school culture of silence
THE Baxter Golden Arrow Studio comes alive with the 2018 Standard Bank Ovation Award-winning play, Sainthood, next month
The production, which interrogates the all-boys’ school culture, is written and directed by Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni.
it was written after she listened to the stories of some of her male friends, former Saints’ boys. As a former Saints’ girl herself, she had a perfectly good idea what she was dealing with and while some of the experiences were delightful, others were petrifying. This dichotomy gave rise to the birth of this essential and vibrant work.
“Adolescence is such an important developmental stage in one’s life and we spend most of it at school and more-often-than-not we brush it off as something fleeting, when it can be so defining to one’s early adult character,” said Tiisetso.
“I have watched countless representations of popular high school culture and most of them are usually quite whimsical and animated in nature. I wanted to revert the trope as a “survival of the fittest” representation of South African private schools’ culture that shows that it is not as glamorous as it is so often portrayed.”
She has assembled a hugely-talented, all-male cast comprising recent University of Cape Town graduates Adam Lennox, Tevin Musara, Cullum McCormack, Mphumzi Nontshinga and Simphiwe Shabalala.
Sainthood follows five fictional matric boys in a fictional private school through a non-fictional narrative created from stories, books, newspaper articles and anonymous interviews with Saints boys that cover a range of topics from sexuality to racism.
The play has been described as a minimalist and intense theatre experience that uses elements of physical theatre and chorus work through an escalating episodic structure that led through a turbulent see-saw between masculinity and femininity that the characters either embrace or beat to death.
St Gabriel’s, one of South Africa’s most elite private schools, prides itself on a stellar reputation in moulding men of stature, who will hopefully have a positive impact on South African society. The school goes above and beyond to make sure that their learners have the best teachers, coaches, equipment and school pride. Anything that threatens this sanctity is rectified with immediate effect any anyone who affronts the system is dealt with swiftly and in accordance with the traditions and rules of the school.
With the outcries at Pretoria High School for Girls over its hair policy in 2016, the St John’s College racist teacher incident in 2017 and the Parktown Boys’ sexual assault case last year, Sainthood is not saying anything new, it’s just saying something that has been kept quiet for far too long.
Sainthood previews at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio on February 6 and 7, opens on February 8 and runs until February 23.
There are matinee performances on February 14 and 21 at 11am and on Saturdays 9, 16 and February 23 at 3pm.
There is an age restriction of 16. Ticket prices range from R50 (scholars/students/seniors and matinee block-bookings of 10 or more), R70 (block-bookings of 10 or more for evening performances) to R100. Booking is now open via Webtickets on 086 111 0005, online at www. webtickets.co.za or from selected Pick n Pays.
For discounted school or group block bookings, fund-raisers or charities, call Sharon Ward on 021 680 3962, email sharon.ward@uct.ac.za or Carmen Kearns on 021 680 3993, email carmen.kearns@uct.ac.za