Theatre Lives!

I am a bit of a misshapen piece of existence, metaphorically speaking, look you.

But there are a few spots on this planet that I have found to suit me perfectly. The first that comes to mind is my own family, as odd things are often formed from more odd things. The second the study of my closest companion and the third, yes, you guessed it, on the stage.

For someone who is loud, unsympathetically quirky, a bit nuts, and is always suffering from some exasperating drama in her life, the stage is my sweet spot. That perfect place to express all the pent-up experiences of being a human in me.

I always saw theatre as a bit of a lost and found box, where you meet the most incredible weirdos to exist. And, of course, you think they are incredible, because you are drowning in your own bias towards theatre people. And you have spent 2-3 months with them in the dressing room and now your souls speak to their souls in fragmented show quotes. Together you form something unique. A spot to just be found. To look around in 2021 and see my lost and found box still stuffed in a cupboard and covered in masks and sanitizer was akin to the end of the world.

I found myself breaking into dance and song in the darkness of my room, trying to recapture the feeling of the stage beneath me. I would fall over dead in random places to feel alive again, much to the annoyance of my poor sister (pray for the siblings of theatre kids, they are people too). I would yell at myself in different accents, and cry while dusting my makeup box.

All of this was my grief towards what felt like the end of my ride on that glorious sunbeam.

I could not see how in a town where theatre was already fighting for life, in a country that didn’t have the resources to carry us, in a world that felt like it was too crazy to care about us, this final blow was not a death blow.

But for the grace of God, without a sound, without banners and a cavalry, I found my heart lift again. And theatre called to me.

What had begun as a pet project between myself and my best friend, Ruth Johnson, would become our little theatre baby. Born out of leaping into inspiration.

We started out wanting a few scenes of Shakespeare to reopen their family roastery in art slam style, but of course, once the ball was rolling we flew after it like the wild men of the Gloucester cheese roll (lockdown has taught me many horrific things. Google it. It is brilliant.) We kept adding, we kept changing and before I knew it, I was a King, and then a maiden, and then an ill-fated lover!

Our show now consisted of fifteen+ scenes from some of Shakespeare’s most beloved works, performed in three acts: Woo, Wit and Woe.

Some nights our rehearsals would stretch beneath the moonlight like endless rivers and others they would bounce around like untamed rabbits. We lost our voices from laughing in comedy and we lost our hearts in weeping for tragedy. It was just the two of us, in a room, practicing Shakespeare. But it hit the heartstring of theatre. To be outside of yourself. Within a character. Destroying and creating worlds. I know I am making it sound very romantic but I it is a “secret” fault of mine to be a touch overdramatic. I felt awake, my senses renewed as I was wooing one minute and murdering the next.

We were unleashed.

And for three different stretches of time, we performed this madness.

Our first run was on the steps of the Roastery. Our costumes all saved from Ruth’s mother’s wardrobe and adapted to suit the purpose. It was small and intimate and when I saw the crowd, much clearer than one could on stage, I felt those wonderful nerves and I prayed that for this moment we could bring joy to people. Because that is what is about in the end. Theatre, for me, is about our audience. All the tired and lonely and lost souls slowly taking their seats. And then the exchange of life between us. I watched as I made a complete idiot of myself and let people laugh at me. It was like drinking in a symphony. To think that their laughter and tears were reuniting us after all this silence and isolation!

It was during this grand affair that we officially became the Stick and Stone theatre co! Our aim is to continue creating a space for theatre and literature for as long as we can. After hitting the stage with our compilation of Shakespeare’s works, titled Shakespeare Unleashed, we are taking a moment to work on another project for the end of the year. In between this we make ourselves available for hire and we also read sonnets live every Saturday online to keep the spark alive.

In the end, theatre is dusting herself off again because she is inside us. She brings us together with her jolly arms and gives us that hug we need, and I cannot wait to keep being apart of that process. She has blessed us with a seed of theatre here in little Gqberha. And maybe it will fly and live forever, or maybe we will just be the prized melody of the moment.

Written by Nizaan Henning. a.k.a. Stone