By Thapelo Matlala
Quality of over quantity is usually best, but Life of a Taxi Driver had a small audience who stayed for a short, but tedious show.
The production’s inspiration draws from instances of taxi violence that took place in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape earlier this year. The piece revolves around the main character, Lubabalo Mthembu, also known as Small, who lost his parents to taxi violence.
Following the death of his parents, Small leaves school and becomes a part-time pantsula dancer and taxi driver. Much of the play takes place at his dance rehearsals. In one scene, he moves to the beats of ‘Ten past Four’ by Dr Dope, and this gets the audience moving. During a rehearsal, he meets Bongi, who is intrigued by his dance moves and develops a passion for dancing. The two of them quickly grow close. While Bongi’s father disapproves of her joining the dance crew, she persists in her passion.
As the show progresses, Small experiences great love, loss, and violence. To deal with the pain, he engages in destructive behaviour, seeking respite through alcohol.
While the themes of Life of a Taxi Drive are important, and the narrative is clear, the play lacked zeal, and the audience was left bored, with some even looking at their phones, save for the few stand-out moments of the show.
Life of a Taxi Driver is on at City Hall from 25 to 28 June.
