Review: Township Stories

Township Stories
South African State Theatre


South Africa is a very special place. Set against its natural beauty is a society so starkly at odds with itself that any trip there is always emotionally profound. From the open-wide veldt to the bustling cities it is a place of contradictions, a place of extremes.

It is from the impoverished and over populated regions that this production, Township Stories comes from. Framed by a wall of sheet metal, a common sight in the townships, four stories are played out and intertwined.

The play opens up with a young girl running for her life. She screams and falls and picks herself up and is dragged back till finally she is found centre-stage murdered.

The local detective (Chuck Shisana) arrives with his colleagues to investigate. There is a serial killer on the loose who murders his victims with their underwear – the "g-string murderer".

Framing this is the story of schoolgirl Matlakala (Koketso Mojela) and her drunken father Dan (Molefi Monaisa). Matlakala runs away from home after fighting with her abusive mother and finds herself in the township with gangster Dario Sephai (Tshallo Chokwe).

With his violent past, Sephai is hauled into the station for questioning over the murders. But the detective is having problems of his own, and takes his rage out on the suspect. We soon learn that he lost his wife suddenly and consequently took his grief out on his son Thabo (Olebogeng Sebotha).

With sixteen actors playing over twenty different characters, this production is epic in its scale and Shakespearean in its tragedy. Scenes flow straight into the other and the mood created with its simply beautiful stagecraft is something to behold. From street scenes, to the bars, to the homes, you could be walking through the middle of Capetown or Johannesburg.

Quite simply, this production is worth every penny and worth the drive to Wollongong if you are in Sydney. But it’s not a tourist journey. It’s an intense piece that challenges the way you see things and forces you to consider your position and your point of view. As one character says at the very end ‘it’s all relative’.


Merrigong Theatre
Illawarra Performing Arts Centre
www.merrigong.com.au
Until 23 Feb $19-52