Sizwe Banzi is Dead

Small queue leading into the auditorium and I'm suddenly confronted with two signs stating 'Non Whites' which are to take the left side and 'Whites' to enter via the right hand side with a white rope barrier separating the two entrances. This I have never witnessed in my life so instantly made me want to know why the separation.

I was sat among the non whites and witnessed a few whites in the area and also there wasn't any barrier as opposed to the whites section being cordoned off with a large white rope. I was still intrigued to why this style was introduced so I sat patiently and waited for the piece of theatre to begin.

Enter a man wearing sun glasses grinning from ear to ear at the audience and greets us. He begins telling a story and impersonates every single character from his story. This varied from young and old male and females to the white manager who owned the townships. Tonderai Munyevu's energy was amazing, he kept the audience intrigued, sustained and entertained through much laughter. I have to admit I did find some of the stories he told to be offensive, especially when a Banana drops from above the stage. I for one didn't find that funny as some of the audience did, but looking back I can see it was the character Tonderai Munyevu played the audience found amusing as he was very funny.

Set was covered with many large planks of used wood with spray painted numbers on to give you a real sense of poverty and township surroundings. Centre stage parked a small cabin which opened up into a small photography studio, with a brightly coloured scenic blue sky backdrop. 

Enter a man in a suit, requesting some photos to send to his wife, and let the true dual comedy commence. This was a brilliant piece of comedy for me as it allowed the photographer to experiment and mould his client into the star behind his camera juxtaposed with the other man looking slightly confused and uncomfortable with the photographers directions.

Another amazing piece that stood out for me was Sibusiso Mamba huge monologue from a drunken Sizwe who questions why we are defined to a National Insurance number and a passport? It's a very interesting and thought provoking monologue that gets you thinking for yourself and agreeing with what is said during the monologue. In addiction the way he strips his clothes off to his boxer shorts adds much more power and meaning to the speech.

I have to fully congratulate both actors for each of their performances. They both kept their energy high, volume was always projected and the correct emotions came across lovely and organic. I do have to give extra congratulations to Tonderai Munyevu for capturing an audience for 40 minutes all by himself. That in itself is a great achievement any actor could dream of accomplishing every night in a theatre.

So the big questions; does the segregation work? What was the purpose of it? Have we now passed that stage now we are into the 21st century? Personally I think if it's the directors decision we have to respect that as theatre is there to experiment and try new innovative ideas out. However, the strong actors who were cast so well and performed an extremely powerful piece could've held the audience with or without the segregation in place. I guess it's not a matter of; whether you agree with it or not, you generate conversation about it and become more intrigued as to why, resulting in going to see a great piece of theatre. I'd say its a win win either way.