Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
A dark tale for troubled times
Veteran director remakes a classic about the ongoing gangsterism on the Cape Flats
“WE have to hold up a mirror to society.”
So says acclaimed musician and director David Kramer of his latest production, Danger in the Dark.
The man with the rooi veldskoene did not mince his words when he said politicians had not done enough to address the issue of gangsterism on the Cape Flats.
Danger in the Dark is a remake of the hit musical, Poison, which Kramer and Taliep Petersen wrote in the 1990s.
Kramer said the timing of his new work could not be more poignant, considering the issues plaguing communities all over the Western Cape.
In Danger in the
Dark, Kramer has told the story from the point of view of Pamela, a social worker who is writing a thesis on drug abuse on the Cape Flats.
The story is set in the underbelly of the troubled area in 1995. Pamela reconnects with Juanita, an old school friend. Pamela realises Juanita is trapped in an abusive relationship with a drug lord and becomes desperate to help her.
Pamela is drawn into dangerous places and situations, yet she perseveres against all odds for the safety of her friend.
“Art doesn’t necessarily make a change, but it does get people talking. Here, you have young people who are presenting this kind of work to other young people and they are showing that theatre can be an alternative to gangsterism and drugs,” said Kramer.
Poison was written in 1992 and Kramer said it saddened him that the same evils which existed then still exist. However, he said it excited him every time he saw “imagination stimulated”.
A a performer or director can never tell how society will react to any art form, Kramer said, yet it was his duty to reflect the issues in an artistic way.
“My job is not to eradicate the problem. Instead, I desire to show young people that there are alternatives.
“I have seen the arts change lives, change young people. There is so much talent, but very little opportunity,” he said. Danger in the Dark looks at problems that plague many poor communities across South Africa and Kramer said he wanted to emphasise that the arts, and even a career in the arts, could be better than “sitting in the township, losing hope or becoming another gangster”.
Assistant director Grant van Ster hoped that Danger in the Dark would “really speak to people”.
“The theatre is a safe space for us to speak or address these issues. It’s a place of letting go. It’s a serious musical drama,” Van Ster said. “It’s going to be epic, it’s going to be amazing.”
The City of Cape Town has donated
“
Art doesn’t make a change but it does get people talking
David Kramer DIRECTOR
funds to help bring pupils from across the city to see the show.
Kramer has retained many of the original songs and assembled an impressive creative team and eight lead performers, with a chorus of 14 who dance, sing and play a variety of roles. Danger in the Dark will run at the Baxter Theatre from October 11 to November 2.
Tickets range from R100 to R195 and booking is open through Webtickets on 086 111 0005, online at www. webtickets.co.za or at Pick n Pay stores. There is an age restriction of 12.