Beggared SA, Theatre
Venue: Black Power Station
Review & Interview
By Ndalo Mbombo
“Humour is a coping device” said Sean Higgs discussing his performance in the one-man play, Beggared in SA. Based on a true story, he and director Gideon De Wet began writing this piece 15 years ago. It was De Wet who advised Higgs to write, documenting his experiences on the trajectory from life as a privileged white South African male, to becoming homeless, encouraging him that this was rich material for creating theatre with in the future.
“Write, write everything down, you are a writer.”
The show set is kept as simple as possible, with the stage intentionally bare and props minimal. The audience sees Higgs lit only with the beam of a traffic light’s changing colours, shining onto his beggar’s sign and a backpack. Simple, yet with a depth of complexity, a tale that’s both funny and moving.
Higgs’ character Stuart narrates the tale of woes that send him along a path of highs and lows. The struggles of a parent dealing with their offspring’s addiction and how this can tear families apart; the jeopardy of unpredictable weather patterns being one of the true dangers to farmers. Stuart’s hard knocks set him on a meandering descent where he lands up living on the streets, surviving on handouts and having to learn how to watch his own back.
Stuart is a funny guy – his humour is a redeeming factor in what could be a wholly tragic life story. Positive and unexpected twists of fate lead him to a shack in the township of Masiphumelele, grateful for the shelter and given new comforts and perspectives learnt within the community. He proudly earns the title of “Madala!” – an elder with a level of respect.
Beggarded in SA invites its audience along for the ride, a front row seat into how life sometimes just happens. It encourages reflection mingled into the laughter and raconteuring.
