Erica Whyman in South Africa, Part III
I'm sitting at Johannesburg airport on my way back home, so this will be my final blog from SA. However I need to go back a day or two and write about some of the other memorable moments from Grahamstown.
One event that really changed my thinking was the opening of Wordfest, the literature festival. This is convened by the very impressive Chris Mann, a white South African, who has ensured the festival is a celebration of all the indigenous languages of SA. He addressed the conference in isiXhosa, with just four words of English, 'we need each other'. Before that though we watched as about sixty writers paraded through the streets, declaring the importance of words. They then gathered outside Rhodes university where they delivered their poems and writings into a box which was handed to the MEC (senior politician for Arts and Culture) who is expected to publish them. This being South Africa it transpired that she had failed to do this last year because of bureaucracy! The delivery ritual derives from a tradition of leaving a stone on a cairn to mark the fact that you have passed a certain village or place. As we listened to a chain of distinguished poets and praise singers address the room, it struck me that when we have been contemplating a major production here we have been assuming it will be largely in English. In any other country we would be assuming it should be in the most spoken language and then translated into English. Because of South Africa's peculiar history English is so dominant that we have not thought like this. Now I'm wondering, if we were to do a major classic with a company here, like a Shakespeare, would the groundbreaking thing to do be to perform it in isiXhosa, Afrikaans and English, with an explicitly mixed cast? If the Russians can do it, why not the South Africans?
We spent one afternoon at the festival talking with two playwrights, a professor of literature and a colleague of his. It was a fascinating discussion about the frustrations and hopes for the arts here. At one point the more experienced playwright, Monde Ngonyama said that 'the artists are tired', meaning that after the struggle against apartheid, the fight has gone out of their work. And that the system currently works against encouraging them to make and fund new pieces. If we could inspire people here to believe in the importance of their work again, and by doing so encourage artists in the North East to be braver about the work we make, that would be really something.
We returned to Port Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon, ready for our women's event on Friday. This event came from one we hosted at Northern Stage on the occasion of a visit by senior Eastern Cape politicians in 2007. It sprang from conversations I had on my first visit to SA with young and very senior women here who felt there was a need for women to get together to share experiences and speak about issues which are hard to address in most public arenas. Post-apartheid, women are the beneficiaries of strict positive action laws to ensure there are equal numbers of men and women employed in all places of work. This has meant a great deal of change very quickly, against a backdrop of a very patriarchal culture (in black and white communities) and increasing domestic violence. The event in Newcastle was a big success, with many NE women enjoying a space to talk, but nothing could have prepared me for Friday afternoon.
We arrived at Red Location museum, a huge building in the middle of the poorest township near in Nelson Mandela Bay. Some very senior women started to arrive, teachers, writers and the most famous actress in the Eastern Cape, who was part of Athol Fugard's Serpent Players and the first black actress to play to an integrated audience. As we gathered for lunch more and women arrived, many of whom had heard myself and Peggy Calata (who works for the Swallows Partnership and is a very well respected figure here) on the radio. They had come, not really knowing what the event was for, but wanting to get together with other women. A group of young dancers performed for us and then their director, Florence, was interviewed by her daughter about her life and the journey she has been on. Florence was born just a few months before me, and yet her life has been inutterably different, with very limited opportunities and a struggle to just survive, and yet she has formed this group and she encourages the young women to believe in themselves, and as she says, to 'be someone'. I was speaking next, but I was so very humbled by Florence and more than a little bewildered by the range of women in the audience, so I didn't say much of what I had planned. Instead I talked about my mother and grandmothers, which is certainly something that South Africa makes me think about; the fact that you are who you are because of other people, and most especially because of your family. I was unusually concise (!) but didn't give a good account of what on earth I was doing there..
Mo and Peggy were brilliant at creating an atmosphere of trust, and one by one the women introduced themselves and spoke about their lives and their struggles. It was extremely moving, with more than one woman speaking about bringing up large families, on their own, sacrificing so much to give their children an education, who then have no jobs or income at the end of it. Many young women spoke about fighting for their own education, including a government officer who walked for two days, wearing her shoes out, to ask for a grant to study, which she didn't expect to get. Another recurring theme was women who already have so little, making a point of helping others, caring for the elderly, working in schools, or simply expressing their admiration for each other. A number of young performers spoke about how the arts have given them a living, as well as self esteem and opportunity. Towards the end of the afternoon, a lady spoke who had come all the way from Cradock (a two hour drive), and her story was so upsetting that Peggy was unable to translate.By the end of the afternoon, quite a number of tears had been shed. Not just because of the stories of tragedy and struggle, but because all the women had had the courage to speak about themselves. There were promises to find a way to hold these events regularly and I know Mo and Peggy will find a way to do this.
I have to leave this extraordinary country now. I am still shocked at the terrible deprivations and continuing divisions and prejudices. And I am all the more inspired by the people who are fighting them. Against the backdrop of the nightmare that is Zimbabwe, and rising food and oil prices, this place feels more troubled and less optimistic than when I first visited, but so many colleagues I've met have an admirable determination to keep going, and to create opportunities for the next generation, the 'born free generation'. There is amazing talent in the Eastern Cape, and theatre is one small way that stories of the new South Arica, with all its struggles and hopes, can reach the rest of the world.
July 5th, Johannesburg, SA
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
One event that really changed my thinking was the opening of Wordfest, the literature festival. This is convened by the very impressive Chris Mann, a white South African, who has ensured the festival is a celebration of all the indigenous languages of SA. He addressed the conference in isiXhosa, with just four words of English, 'we need each other'. Before that though we watched as about sixty writers paraded through the streets, declaring the importance of words. They then gathered outside Rhodes university where they delivered their poems and writings into a box which was handed to the MEC (senior politician for Arts and Culture) who is expected to publish them. This being South Africa it transpired that she had failed to do this last year because of bureaucracy! The delivery ritual derives from a tradition of leaving a stone on a cairn to mark the fact that you have passed a certain village or place. As we listened to a chain of distinguished poets and praise singers address the room, it struck me that when we have been contemplating a major production here we have been assuming it will be largely in English. In any other country we would be assuming it should be in the most spoken language and then translated into English. Because of South Africa's peculiar history English is so dominant that we have not thought like this. Now I'm wondering, if we were to do a major classic with a company here, like a Shakespeare, would the groundbreaking thing to do be to perform it in isiXhosa, Afrikaans and English, with an explicitly mixed cast? If the Russians can do it, why not the South Africans?
We spent one afternoon at the festival talking with two playwrights, a professor of literature and a colleague of his. It was a fascinating discussion about the frustrations and hopes for the arts here. At one point the more experienced playwright, Monde Ngonyama said that 'the artists are tired', meaning that after the struggle against apartheid, the fight has gone out of their work. And that the system currently works against encouraging them to make and fund new pieces. If we could inspire people here to believe in the importance of their work again, and by doing so encourage artists in the North East to be braver about the work we make, that would be really something.
We returned to Port Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon, ready for our women's event on Friday. This event came from one we hosted at Northern Stage on the occasion of a visit by senior Eastern Cape politicians in 2007. It sprang from conversations I had on my first visit to SA with young and very senior women here who felt there was a need for women to get together to share experiences and speak about issues which are hard to address in most public arenas. Post-apartheid, women are the beneficiaries of strict positive action laws to ensure there are equal numbers of men and women employed in all places of work. This has meant a great deal of change very quickly, against a backdrop of a very patriarchal culture (in black and white communities) and increasing domestic violence. The event in Newcastle was a big success, with many NE women enjoying a space to talk, but nothing could have prepared me for Friday afternoon.
We arrived at Red Location museum, a huge building in the middle of the poorest township near in Nelson Mandela Bay. Some very senior women started to arrive, teachers, writers and the most famous actress in the Eastern Cape, who was part of Athol Fugard's Serpent Players and the first black actress to play to an integrated audience. As we gathered for lunch more and women arrived, many of whom had heard myself and Peggy Calata (who works for the Swallows Partnership and is a very well respected figure here) on the radio. They had come, not really knowing what the event was for, but wanting to get together with other women. A group of young dancers performed for us and then their director, Florence, was interviewed by her daughter about her life and the journey she has been on. Florence was born just a few months before me, and yet her life has been inutterably different, with very limited opportunities and a struggle to just survive, and yet she has formed this group and she encourages the young women to believe in themselves, and as she says, to 'be someone'. I was speaking next, but I was so very humbled by Florence and more than a little bewildered by the range of women in the audience, so I didn't say much of what I had planned. Instead I talked about my mother and grandmothers, which is certainly something that South Africa makes me think about; the fact that you are who you are because of other people, and most especially because of your family. I was unusually concise (!) but didn't give a good account of what on earth I was doing there..
Mo and Peggy were brilliant at creating an atmosphere of trust, and one by one the women introduced themselves and spoke about their lives and their struggles. It was extremely moving, with more than one woman speaking about bringing up large families, on their own, sacrificing so much to give their children an education, who then have no jobs or income at the end of it. Many young women spoke about fighting for their own education, including a government officer who walked for two days, wearing her shoes out, to ask for a grant to study, which she didn't expect to get. Another recurring theme was women who already have so little, making a point of helping others, caring for the elderly, working in schools, or simply expressing their admiration for each other. A number of young performers spoke about how the arts have given them a living, as well as self esteem and opportunity. Towards the end of the afternoon, a lady spoke who had come all the way from Cradock (a two hour drive), and her story was so upsetting that Peggy was unable to translate.By the end of the afternoon, quite a number of tears had been shed. Not just because of the stories of tragedy and struggle, but because all the women had had the courage to speak about themselves. There were promises to find a way to hold these events regularly and I know Mo and Peggy will find a way to do this.
I have to leave this extraordinary country now. I am still shocked at the terrible deprivations and continuing divisions and prejudices. And I am all the more inspired by the people who are fighting them. Against the backdrop of the nightmare that is Zimbabwe, and rising food and oil prices, this place feels more troubled and less optimistic than when I first visited, but so many colleagues I've met have an admirable determination to keep going, and to create opportunities for the next generation, the 'born free generation'. There is amazing talent in the Eastern Cape, and theatre is one small way that stories of the new South Arica, with all its struggles and hopes, can reach the rest of the world.
July 5th, Johannesburg, SA
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Labels: Erica, South Africa
posted by Northern Stage at
09:49
1 Comments:
Erica Enjoyed reading your stories of South Africa I have been to most of these places but they came alive in your blog,
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