Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • ADC partners with Rhodes psychology trainees for trauma workshops
  • Rhodes SRC elections nullified as 5 candidates found to be on academic probation
  • Women’s Day inspiration at Amazwi
  • PJ beat Graeme seconds in titanic battle
  • Gunn shines for Klipfontein in bonus-point win over OC
  • Swallows end season on a high
  • A jubilant celebration of Xhosa music and culture
  • Debt enforcement under the National Credit Act
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Grocott's Mail
  • NEWS
    • Courts & Crime
    • Features
    • Politics
    • People
    • Health & Well-being
  • SPORT
    • News
    • Results
    • Sports Diary
    • Club Contacts
    • Columns
    • Sport Galleries
    • Sport Videos
  • OPINION
    • Election Connection
    • Makana Voices
    • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
    • Newtown… Old Eyes
    • Incisive View
    • Your Say
  • ARTSLIFE
    • Cue
    • Makana Sharp!
    • Visual Art
    • Literature
    • Food & Fun
    • Festivals
    • Community Arts
    • Going Places
  • OUR TOWN
    • What’s on
    • Spiritual
    • Emergency & Well-being
    • Safety
    • Civic
    • Municipality
    • Weather
    • Properties
      • Grahamstown Properties
    • Your Town, Our Town
  • OUTSIDE
    • Enviro News
    • Gardening
    • Farming
    • Science
    • Conservation
    • Motoring
    • Pets/Animals
  • ECONOMIX
    • Business News
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Personal Finance
  • EDUCATION
    • Education NEWS
    • Education OUR TOWN
    • Education INFO
  • Covid-19
  • EDITORIAL
Grocott's Mail
You are at:Home»ARTS & LIFE»Godot goes to protest
ARTS & LIFE

Godot goes to protest

Rod AmnerBy Rod AmnerJuly 1, 2022Updated:July 1, 2022No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
A scene from 'Ismism'.

THEATRE: Ismism 
Review by JENNA KRETZMANN

A bench, a washing line, a plastic bag, a white woman, a black man. A hero without a cause, a cause without a hero. On some cardboard reads “STOP!”. There is a pot and some imaginary beans. This is ISMISM… a play where nothing happens, twice.

In the age of social media activism, the awakening of ‘woke’, the death sentence of cancellation, and the heralding of false freedoms, writer and director Loti Makoti explores a timely truth: it is so easy to speak but so difficult to say something that matters. The synopsis seems simple. Two unnamed middle-class adults prepare for a protest in a park. But they are stuck in a Twilight Zone. Who is the lead? Are they for, against, or neutral in the situation at hand? Who is the marginalised group, and ultimately, what the heck is their purpose and motive? Spoiler alert: We receive no answers. 

Does this purposeful purposelessness ring familiar? Ever read Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot? In short, Beckett’s piece consists of two characters who wait for the arrival of a mysterious ‘Godot’, who, spoiler alert number two…never arrives. The relationship between ISMISM! and Waiting for Godot is beautifully conceived. Like that of Godot’s, Makoti’s set is uncanny and simplistic. The bench is reminiscent of Vladimir and Estragon’s mound, and the washing line hangs in the absence of the barren tree. Yet, in absurdist fashion, we are left to decide for ourselves what each piece represents – that is, if it represents anything at all! Both works have dialogue that is as important as they are unimportant. There is also the frustration of anticipation that never divulges its secrets and rising action that climbs and climbs, never to climax. And in the end, we are left with humanity’s vain struggle to seek purpose and meaning in an uncontrollable world. 

Actors Oratile Ndimande and Lisa Tredoux are more like vessels to transport ideas from text to audience rather than nuanced characters to be examined. This is no easy task, yet both performers succeed. The moments of silence on stage could have turned awkward, but Ndimande and Tredoux hold the space, and this enhances the angst of the piece. The production relies heavily on spoken word, yet both actors keep a Tik-Tok generation audience fascinated. If the acting was slightly off par and the content any less clever, the production would be much more average.

There are a few moments in the piece that toe the line when it comes to being problematic. At one point, the murder of George Flloyd is recreated, only to be labelled by the female character as “play play”. It appears that the piece is aware of its disobedience in the face of boundaries, weaving it into the absurdity of it all. Still, there could have been a trigger warning. 

Overall, ISMISM! provides the audience with much to mull over and question, its content and structure mimicking the incongruity of our everyday lives. It is a piece that may manifest differently in each audience member, and those without knowledge of the absurd may find it difficult to swallow. But that is a part of its ironic intentions. For fans of Beckett, it is definitely a worthwhile watch. 

Catch Ismism on July 2, 12:00 – 12:45.

‘Ismism’ – where nothing happens. Twice. Photo: supplied
Previous ArticleAt play in the realm of political assassinations
Next Article Benjamin Jephta sets himself free
Rod Amner

Related Posts

A jubilant celebration of Xhosa music and culture

Two Rhodes plays ignite conversation about women’s struggles

‘Jikelela’ refuses to let you go back into the world thinking everything is fine

Comments are closed.

Tweets by Grocotts
Newsletter



Listen

The Rhodes University Community Engagement Division has launched Engagement in Action, a new podcast which aims to bring to life some of the many ways in which the University interacts with communities around it. Check it out below.

Humans of Makhanda

Humans of Makhanda

Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

© 2022 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.