Written by: Tiisetso Tlelima
Pictures Credit: Nadine Hutton
Choreographer Nelisiwe Xaba presents a humorous and vibrant dance piece exploring the themes of racial and social stereotyping, and how these distort people’s perceptions of one another at the 2010 FNB Dance Umbrella. Using dance and animation, she asks the questions whether we benefit from focusing on what makes people different from one another and how do our interactions change when we begin to see our similarities. We caught up with Nelisiwe to find out more about the show.
What is Black!…White? really about?
“The first point is that it is about race politics – how a black body is displayed or how we as Africans are projected and how we exist in the media. For instance, look at how BBC and CNN covers travel stories. A white person will always be perceived as someone who explores the world and goes on holiday. You will never see a black person portrayed in this way. It’s almost as if we don’t do these things. And after a while it starts feeling like this is our reality. Secondly, it’s also about my everyday relation with white people. You know, no matter who you are, white people always assume a position of superiority when they’re amongst black people. Infact, white people, the Chinese, Indians or any other race for that matter are prejudice against black people based purely on their skin colour. It doesn’t matter how you present yourself, they already think you are inferior and they will tell you what to do, when to do it and how to do it.”
What do you want people to learn from this piece?
“I want to open a dialogue. We complain amongst friends, but not in a public arena. 20 years ago we used to complain as a nation. We used to have the same struggles, something that we agree on. I don’t know what it is we agree on these days.”
Would you describe your work as a form of protest theatre and do you think there’s space for this kind of theatre in South Africa?
“Yes I do see my work as a form of protest theatre. I think there’s always space for protest theatre in South Africa. Twenty years ago we fought against apartheid, why have we stopped fighting now? I mean we had a common enemy during apartheid and I believe we still have a common enemy even now. I think we have a problem fighting a black government. We are afraid to question and to critique each other. We are afraid of elders and these so-called elders are the reason that Africa is fucked.”
What can we expect from you in future?
“I’m re-thinking what I need to be doing. I’m re-thinking my existence in this industry. I’m thinking about the future of theatre in this country. The truth is there is no audience so I conclude that people are not interested in theatre. They’d rather watch TV, they don’t want to be challenged and they want quick fixes. There’s no way theatre can compete with this. There’s so much crap on TV and that’s probably what they want. South Africans, especially black South Africans aren’t interested in theatre. They’re interested in going to places where they’re gonna brag about their cars and the latest fashion.”
Black!…White? is showing at the Market Theatre tonight at 20:30.
Black!…White? Production Credits:
Set & Costume by Carlo Gibson
Animation by Lukasz Pater
Sound by Mocke Van Vuuren
Directed by Toni Morkel
Choreographed by Nelisiwe Xaba
Performers: Stacey Sacks, Rob van Vuuren and Nelisiwe Xaba
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