Ingcwaba lendoda a big hit
In theatre circles, they say a good piece of art speaks for itself and directors and actors enjoy it when audiences enjoy their piece and walk out chatting about the good story and the good acting.
Ingcwaba lendoda lise cankwe ndlela is a different story. Produced by Mandla Mbothwe with Magnet Theatre, the piece gets the audience talking not only to each other but to the director too.
This is not to say that the drama fails to speak for itself. It does speak but members of the audience are not content with what it says on stage and so want the director to say more.
Young students were seen trying to get a word or two from Mandla and it was clear that he was enjoying it. The attention that Mandla gets says a lot about the impact of his piece on the audience.
Mandla decided not to give any direct answers to the questions asked, instead, he fuelled the fascination by stating to admirers that they were free to interpret the play as best they could.
His answer is not surprising considering the issues that the play treats. The play deals with the complicated issues of the journey of life.
Clear cut answers are not expected from this kind of endeavour. Anyone who claims to have clear answers risks oversimplifying a complex matter.
The title, Ingcwaba lendoda lise cankwe ndlela translated as (The grave of the man is next to the road) should rather be (the grave of a man is next to the road) Using the preposition ‘the’ throws the meaning of the play out of line. This is Xhosa proverb that talks about the generality of men and not a specific man who can be referred to as ‘the’ man.
It is the story of a man who leaves his family to eke out a living in town. He sets off searching for a means of livelihood only to discover that his journey to town is his life.
He never comes back but keeps on searching and as he travels, his grave travels alongside him waiting for him to complete his journey.
That his grave has to travel with him on the side of the road speaks to the fact that the road is his place for as long as he lives.
At the end of the play, he concludes with yet another Xhosa proverb, unyawo alulampumulo meaning that feet never rest.
This is something that he learns in the end as travelling and searching become the order of the day.
The story happens within an intimate set. The audience come in to a space with the actors throwing sharp clicks around the theatre. This catches the audience by surprise and they get into the mood that Genevieve Fischer, describes as: “The close proximity between the performers and spectators in this performance allows for a very sensual experience, where the latter see, hear and feel the intensity of the moving story the artists dramatise with their soaring vocals and expressive movements.”
It is only fitting to describe this play as everyone’s play as the audience is intimately involved in the events every second of the story.
The story is told by beautiful song and dance and those who have watched it have said that they would not mind watching it over and over again.