Light and Darkness, Theatre for Children
Venue: Glennie Hall
Review
By Mbali Tanana
Terrifying sounds of a rumbling drum and a clever play with lighting kickstarted the intriguing production of Light and Darkness, embodying the fear that is often associated with darkness. Performers randomly dancing slowly across a dimly lit stage clad in black cloaks appeared to represent bats that dance through the night – that certainly gave me goosebumps! The message was evident: darkness can be scary and sometimes, so is everything that it represents.
However, there was a moment where we were reminded of the beauty of the night and how there are things we get to see and appreciate only in that darkness. Amidst that came the elements of family and sibling rivalry and frustrated parents trying to keep peace among their children. But after darkness came light – happiness depicted through the sun. The four-day run that concluded on the 29th of June was conceived by Itu Sehlapelo and Arran Matlou and was written and directed by Mashupe Phala.
Phala said the Limpopo-based production house had hosted shows at the National Arts Festival since 2003 and this was his first production in children’s theatre. He said he was very strategic in directing a production using day and night, or rather light and darkness, using natural elements, mother nature, the sun, moon and sky – things children could easily relate to. The beautiful seven-crew musical depicted a typical household where siblings – the moon and the sun – were constantly fighting, trying to outshine one another, trying to compete for their parents’ attention and affection.
While they were constantly plotting the demise of each other, through tragedy they were taught an important lesson: although different, they each play an important role in the world, and equally so in the hearts of their parents – Sky and Mother Nature.
Makhanda resident Zine Egbe, 36, said although she had brought her children to the production, she also enjoyed it and learnt something from it. “It was a learning experience even for me, because as grown as I am, I am too scared to sleep in complete darkness – there always needs to be some light, whether a bedside lamp or the TV, but here we were challenged to face our fears, see the beauty and find peace in the stillness of darkness,” she said.
Egbe’s children, non-identical twins Etinosa and Efosa, 10, said they saw a lot of themselves in the moon and the sun constantly fighting and they understood that in the end, they too need to co-exist and love each other, and not be a frustration to their mother.
“The show was very funny, it seemed scary at first but I laughed when I saw myself in the moon and my brother in the sun. We are always fighting, but seeing it played out in the concert, really made me realise how silly we are and how we are really giving my mom a lot of grey hairs,” said Etinosa.
