US-based South African playwright Nadia Davids tells a compelling story of a family that is forced to confront generational traumas as a result of the ongoing worldwide refugee crisis in her latest theatre production, “Hold Still,” which is currently running at the Baxter Theatre until November 19.
At the helm of this production is celebrated South African choreographer and theatre-maker Jay Pather.
Speaking to IOL Entertainment about her vision for the play, Davids shared: “As the writer, the text is my concern, and so I work to get that as sharp, focused, and polished as I can.
“Then, I hand it over to the director and the cast. If it’s in the right hands, the staging reveals moments, themes, and connections that surprise even me.
“For a writer, it’s magic when this happens, and I’m thrilled to say it’s happened with this staging.
She continued giving Pather and the cast her stamp of approval: “Jay Pather’s direction is wonderful. He takes the tight world of the home and the domestic that the play is set in and seems to alternately enlarge and narrow it.
“The main actors, Andrew Buckland and Mwenya Kabwe are amazing. They make the dialogue hum with their back and forth and their understanding of Ben and Rosa, in all their complications and contradictions, and it is a joy to watch.”
“Lyle October and Tailyn Ramsamy do beautiful, textured work, too,” she added.
On what inspired the title of the play “Hold Still,” Davids quipped:“ ‘Hold Still’ is a line from the play. One of the characters says it near the end. It’s an instruction from one character to another, but it's also a desire, a wish, a longing to stay in one place, to put down roots, to not be in the constant state of movement and flight that enforced migrancy brings.
“It’s also what we used to say when we posed for photographs, and there is a photograph in play that’s important and central.”
The multi-themed play focuses on a long-term marriage and, through it, examines the limits of middle-class empathy, the complexities of an inter-racial, intra-cultural family living in the shadow of catastrophic political histories, and what we’ll do to protect those we love.
Set against a contemporary cosmopolitan London rife with xenophobia, the fear of the stranger is a constant theme throughout the play.
She’s the daughter of South African exiles. He’s the son of a man who escaped on Kindertransport.
Their teenage son Oliver, full of political conviction encouraged by his parents, decides to hide his best friend, an asylum-seeking teenager, in their home.
“As the night unfolds, Rosa and Ben must grapple with what their response to Oliver’s actions reveals about their marriage, their histories, and how it tests their image of themselves.
“Rosa and Ben’s lives and the lives of their families have been shaped by catastrophic racism and bigotry.
“And I wanted to think about how individuals hold historical pain and how those traumas play out in the contemporary moment.
“This is dynamic, progressive, assured, and educated, but they’re also just a generation away from danger and flight. They love each other deeply, and they adore their son, but a part of their marriage and their life together is also about navigating their histories and how that affects their daily experience.
“South Africa and the South African experience is a key part of the world of the play, both because of Rosa’s life and because of the way she’s explained that part of her life to her son, Oliver.
“The play is set in London, but the xenophobia, the scape-goating of the foreigner to cover all manner of systemic failures, is a rhetorical tool used by governments across the world. South Africa, regrettably, is no exception to this.”
Davids further explained that the play is inspired by her experiences in London when the refugee crisis hit and Brexit was gaining traction.
“It was a difficult moment, and it ran counter to so much of what I’d experienced in the UK from ordinary citizens, from colleagues and friends’ generosity, welcome, and a deep commitment to human rights.
“Like so many, I watched in utter despair. The news reports about families fleeing, parents putting small children into inflatable boats to cross churning seas, migrant camps, detentions, asylum refused, and, with the exception of Germany, middle-to-low-income countries taking in the vast number of refugees.
“At the same time, I was so moved by how swiftly human rights organisations sprang into action to support people, but I’ve often wondered what it means when NGOs and ordinary citizens feel they are tasked with ‘fixing’ what governments ignore or worsen.
“Hold Still” is currently showing at the Baxter until November 19. Tickets are available at Webtickets for R190.
JOBURG
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Where: The SA State Theatre
When: Current to November 27
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His life and times are captured through the eyes of a praise singer, taking audiences on a journey of historical imagination to the glorious past and leading them back through exhilarating song, praise poetry, and energetic Zulu dancing to a proudly and unapologetically Pan-African future.
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Where: The Sneddon
When: From November 25 - December 3
Directed by Darren King, “Classical Comedy” is a madcap outrageous musical comedy collaboration between Macbob Productions and the Durban City Orchestra to welcome the festive season from November 25 until December 4.
This is a musical celebration fit for the whole family, guaranteed to bring a chuckle to Tchaikovsky, a roar to Radetsky and a burp to Brahms!
Joburg
Adventures in Pantoland
Where: Joburg Theatre
When: Current to December 4
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Now, thirty years later and as the 27th annual Janice Honeyman pantomime at the Joburg Theatre, the panto of all pantos returns with “Adventures in Pantoland”.
This year’s show will be a mash-up-mega-mix of pantomimes, where ever-popular characters such as Princess Aurora, Aladdin, Snow White and Jack the Joller meet on stage with the Wicked Queen Evilina, the Abominable Uncle Abanazar, Madame Kakkeloura Khakibos and the Crooked Captain Hideosa Hook in a Quest Adventure to retain the Golden Goblet of Goodness.
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