Director Brett Bailey (right) with technical production manager, Kobus Rossouw (left). PHOTO: Courtney Williams.
Award-winning director Brett Bailey features his latest production, Samson, at the 2019 edition of the Woordfees in Stellenbosch which ends this Sunday.
The Judeo-Christian biblical tale of a mythical hero, Samson, is explored in a 21st-century setting, where the Cape Town-based playwright’s poetic interpretation comments on the concerns that he has with “migration, bigotry, colonialism and oppressive capitalist policies,” said Bailey.
Samson is the saga of a mythical strongman who is anointed by a Hebrew god to liberate his people from the doctrine of their colonial masters. The story is a perplexing composition of theatre filled with romance, tragedy, betrayal and heroics.
Bailey places this saga in a modern African contemporary reality, which highlights various socio-economic issues that have been woven into the cleavages within society by its colonial past.
“I see this contemporary Samson figure as an avatar for the repressed rage of people that have been trampled by expansionist forces for centuries,” said Bailey.
By mid-2017, Bailey had been in search of new material where he found himself reflecting on Greek mythology.
“I am fascinated by how ancient myths can illuminate the complex era we’re living in,” said Bailey. Scouting for new work, Bailey decided to trawl the Bible in search of inspiration, until eventually settling for the tale of Samson.
The director describes this work as a fragmented post-colonial ritual theatre piece which draws on the rich theatrics of South African township churches. Beyond the violence and the heroics of the myth, Bailey finds a great deal of sadness in the story.
Describing the various intricacies of the play Bailey says, “A central theme of the work that I have made is loss: of home, of self, of faith.” It also draws on the director’s fascination with shamanism and ritual as depicted through the choreography of Vincent Mantsoe, who combines traditional African dance with modern contemporary.
Members of the cast and crew sit outside Rhenish Girls’ High School Theatre after Samson’s second running on the 9th of March. PHOTO: Courtney Williams.
Samson is portrayed by actor, Luthando Tsodo, and the theatre piece is narrated by storyteller Wiseman Sithole, both of whom are accompanied on stage by Abey Xakwe, Apollo Ntshoko, Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi and Zanele Mbizo who make up the ensemble.
The compelling tale of the mythical figure placed in the 21st-century is intricately brought together by a four-piece electrical band. The soundtrack was written and produced by award-winning bassist and composer, Shane Cooper, who describes the score as “a variation of genres compiled together to accompany a complexity of nuances depicted by the ensemble. It moves from an ambient soundscape through 19th-century opera into the deep base of post-dubstep.”