Saulspoort Dam the Musical, Theatre
Venue: City Hall
Next performance: Saturday 28 June 16:00
Review/Interview
By Karabo Matalajoe
Saulspoort Dam, the Musical stands as a bold and graceful tribute to one of South Africa’s most devastating disasters. The captivating musical theatre production recounts the road accident in which 51 lives were lost when the bus they were travelling in from Kimberly to QwaQwa careened into the waters of the dam.
The incident happened in the early hours of 1 May 2001 and claimed many lives, and now over 20 years later, this is reimagined through song, storytelling and memory as a remembrance to and for those who were affected.
“I was at a funeral in Barkly West — it’s raining, I don’t have an umbrella,” said Charles Ikaneng, the producer of Saulspoort Dam. “Now the feeling of this play comes to me — how did those guys feel in that dam on that particular day, standing on top of a bus for more than four hours? That’s what inspired me. I internalised it. Then I painted the picture in my brain that you can see now on stage.”
Indeed, what the audience sees is not just a theatre piece of the loss, it is the reality of many people who have gone through this experience. Every character in the musical portrayed that reality of events lived throughout that time. “Like the lady who’s playing Martha,” the creator shared, “there’s a woman who used to work at the municipal swimming pools. She drinks every day just like Martha, walking around with a crate. The lady is exactly like her. So that’s where we are from.”
The music, set design and character was phenomenal, all well-balanced and enjoyable for the audience and the producer himself, as he said “I have seen my show multiple times before but today these guys made me cry. It was truly a tear-jerking experience for the audience members.”
This production insists on remembrance. It draws from the country’s collective memory, but also from its silence. “The country will never forget about this,” the director said. “Each and every first of May, government officials on the podium refer to the tragedy that happened in the Free State… It’s still never forgotten.”
The future of Saulspoort Dam seems bright. There’s already growing demand for the production beyond Makhanda. “People who saw the rehearsals, some big names, they already want the production at their theatres. They tell us that they see the gold that we are holding, that we don’t see. But we do see it. We just want to take it one day at a time.”
Saulspoort Dam the Musical isn’t just theatre, it’s a celebration of life all at once. It’s a reclamation of memory for the forgotten and a powerful reminder of what it means to board a bus filled with hope, only to never make it to your destination.
