ROOTSY: Jody Abrahams directs Bullets over Bishop Lavis, which premieres at the KKNK Festival this week. ROOTSY: Jody Abrahams directs Bullets over Bishop Lavis, which premieres at the KKNK Festival this week.
“BUSY, busy, busy” is how Jody Abrahams describes his life.
He is shooting a film in the city and directing a stellar cast in Christo Davids’s Bullets over Bishop Lavis, that premieres at the Oudtshoorn KKNK Festival at the Griesselsaal. The production will run from today until Sunday.
“The play is set on the Cape Flats and revolves around the interaction and the relationship between four characters. Life on the Cape Flats is not only what we see in the media. The root runs deep into the soul of those living there.”
The story centres on Ronnie, an up-and-coming criminal lawyer, and Jerome, an ex-convict. They are cousins who grew up as brothers.
Then there’s Malaysia, a young nurse, who lived in Bishop Lavis and works at a medical rehabilitation centre.
Anel Strydom plays a journalist who wrote an article about her after she saved the life of a shooting victim.
According to Abrahams, the play speaks of the consequences of this article when the deed is spoken about seven years later, and asks whether this article will be a sensationalist exposé of “other” people’s existence, or will it reveal the devastating truth that will irreversibly change everyone’s lives?
These are the issues at the heart of this four-hander played by actors Bronwyn van Graan, Erica Wessels, Charlton George and Abduragman Adams.
What is it like working with these performers?
“It is an absolute pleasure working with this calibre of actor. Each actor plays a pivotal role in the development of the work. All of them bring an immense passion and professionalism to their work, whether it is on-stage or off. They also question and challenge us as writers and creators.”
And what distinguishes this theatrical production from other Cape Flats fare? Abrahams describes the work as a “relevant piece of new theatre for all South Africans because it sheds light on a mostly misinterpreted and still marginalised sector of our society, in particular the lives of ordinary people living on the Cape Flats during the aftermath of the liberation struggle”.
“The play also contextualises our struggles of the present with the challenges of the future. It’s imperative that we dispel the myth of stereotypes and actively contest the misinformed who continue to represent us through a distorted viewfinder, particularly after current distasteful and rather irresponsible statements made by misinformed individuals.”
It is unfortunate that Capetonians will get to see the production only if they are at the Oudtshoorn festival. However, Abrahams says they are “definitely looking at a run in Cape Town after the festival”.
Although, he quickly adds that, it depends on “quite a few factors”.
Two primary ones are “an interested theatre to do a future run, or even runs, and of course budget, budget, budget”, he explains.
What are the challenges in directing the play? “You mean besides dealing with the constraints of an insanely tight budget? Always being open to new ideas without losing focus on the story and our original intention.”
On why people should see this production and why it is important for new work to be produced, Abrahams is very vocal: “People may discover something about their fellow citizens and the commonalities we all face as human beings. It’s an original South African work. It’s imperative that we tell our own stories, our own secrets and that we continue to try to make sense of this incredible product of a history that we are all a part of. It frustrates me that the arts have to constantly depend on grants and handouts. I’m sure funding has been, and still is being, spent on dubious ventures without proper accountability, added to the fact that it is certainly challenging to view the arts as a tangible commodity from those with little or no experience in the creation of the product.
“It certainly opens the door for abuse by unscrupulous, opportunistic operators.
“This history of maladministration, compounded by global financial challenges, has certainly had a negative effect on support for new work. However, instead of moaning or being bitter at the powers that be, we have to become inventive and determined to look at new business modules. Let’s do the business, then we can pay for the arts.”
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