Gabo Legwala, Theatre
Venue: SAC Centenary Hall
Next performance: Saturday 28 June 20:00
Review
By Aryn Guiney
Buckle up for a comfortable ride on a trip through uncomfortable topics.
The cushioned seating in SAC’s Centenary hall sets the scene for Modise Sekgothe’s brand new work, Gabo Legwala; a fitting venue for the poetic theatre piece that opens on the school-age representation of Sekgothe’s character (Ndish to his peers).
Gabo Legwala is designed to move you. Rhythmic chants and rhymes, lullabies and the pulse of drums. The collaboration with Yogin Sullaphen, Phumla Siyobi, and Mahlatsi Mokgonyana is both poignant and brutal. With lines and tones that speak to an anxiety rippling beneath the surface, an everpresent unraveling despite determined attempts to conceal it by the young Ndish. And a maternal figure stooped and silenced beneath the weight of the mother load. Sekgothe stares down and speaks directly to the effects and fall-out of navigating what’s left in the wake of dead beat, dead and departed fathers. The viewer is drawn in, invited too, not to look away. Visceral, sensual, explicit and raw.
With Ndish’s father gone, he speaks of being raised instead by Four Mothers. We see the metamorphosis of masculinity through Ndish’s character and the gang of neighbourhood boys that he runs with. Each shaped by the influence, or lack thereof, of parental figures.
Gabo Legwala alludes to The Coward. And at the end leaves us reflecting on what is a coward, in fact – or rather, what is the opposite to that? Where is true courage honed and what does it look like. For those who care to listen, beneath the bellow of outrage and necessary laments, there is a radical message of hope, of possibility countering the despair. The whispering grows, urging not to surrender to defeat, that there is a time upon us to heed and give space to the plucky brave fighter who counters with means other than fists.
Modise Sekgothe is the recipient of the 2025 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for poetry. His voice challenges and provokes reflection towards evolution.
