Miss Margarida’s Way

Written in the politically fraught Brazil of the 1970’s, Miss Margarida’s Way is a sharp commentary on the hypocrisy of power. It uncovers the pervasive abuse of power which unfortunately characterises contemporary politics in South Africa, Africa and globally. Set in a classroom whose ruler is the teacher, Miss Margarida, the play pokes at the decay of the pedagogical enterprise in our education systems.  Miss Margarida suggests—through an undoubtedly schizophrenic performance—that there is a relationship between the power of authority and the powerlessness of the masses. Additionally, the play exposes to the audience the current age of obsession: with disease, war, food, sex and information. Miss Margarida pushes the audience to assess the roles that mass media play in our consumption driven lives.

As a teacher with a warped—and perhaps insightful—idea of reality, Miss Margarida asks her pubescent students: ‘What is the great principle of history?’ and provides a powerful answer when they fail to respond: ‘The great principle of history is that everyone wants to dominate everyone else, the way that I dominate you in this classroom. Everyone wants to be Miss Margarida.’  In a fit of anger, she explains what ‘revolution’ means. ‘Revolution is two times nothing. Two times nothing, nothing. Revolution is nothing.’ These statements, taken in the context of the colonial history of the continent are not to be taken lightly, especially when students of history cannot understand the concept. Miss Margarida’s Way can provide a point of departure for dialogue between educators, political figureheads, employers and their staff, students and parents. Miss Margarida is hilariously controversial, politically incorrect, highly offensive and urgently necessary as a discussion of the workings of power.

Premiering at the Wits Arts and Literature Experience (WALE FESTIVAL) in April 2010, Miss Maragarida’s Way is the third collaborative project in three years between Jessica Lejowa and Bongile Lecoge-Zulu. They have also worked together to present Even as I Walk (Wits 969 Festival, 2008) and The Wages of Sin (National Arts Festival, 2009). Miss Margarida’s Way was part of the fringe festival at the National Arts Festival, 2010.

Performer: Bongile Lecoge-Zulu

Lecoge-Zulu is a multi faceted artist with a sound musical and performance talent. She is a professional flautist; who graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of the Witwatersrand, School of Arts. Lecoge-Zulu has played with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Academy Orchestra for three years, developing her performance skills as a flautist.  She has performed in national events such as the 2007 and 2008 South Africa Nation Building musical event. She is involved in a number of collaborative interdisciplinary artistic endeavours; her most recent work being Tsela; an interpretation of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (directed by a Wits Drama lecturer, Kabi Thulo). She has worked consistently to investigate the possibilities of merging music and theatre such that neither of the two can function only as a ‘backdrop’ to the other. As such, more and more of her work follows a multidisciplinary trajectory in which she plays multiple artistic roles.

Director: Jessica Lejowa

Lejowa holds a Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes University, a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Art with Honours from Wits University and a Master of Arts In Dramatic Art from the Wits School of Arts. A lecturer in the Drama Division at the Wits School of Arts, Lejowa has directed a number of productions with students and professional theatre makers, including They Were Silent (Drama for Life Festival, 2008), a collaborative process with Kabi Thulo. Her work has revolved around the investigation of ritual in theatre and power dynamics in gender, race and religion, with a particular focus on the lived experiences of women in Africa; partly because of her heritage that cuts across Southern Africa. Lejowa has taken interest in renegotiating and transgressing accepted theatre practices as a way of creating a theatre that is more inclusive and reflective of changing political and social currents.

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Red Peter’s Way Out

Adapted and Directed by:  Phala Ookeditse

Cast: Tony Bonani Miyambo

Based on Franz Kafka’s A Report To An Academy, Red Peter’s Way Out is focused on the complexities of identity in Southern Africa. The adaptation presents an opportunity for the audience to reflect on their own layered identities as co-created by society. Asked to make a report about his past life as an ape, Red Peter instead decides to make a report about his current life. In his report Red Peter's contests that his historical identity cannot be held against him or define him as a being. He largely questions the notion of prejudging one’s identity based on their physical outward appearance. Red Peter’s journey was ignited by finding a way out of a cage he was confined to after his capture. Has this ‘way out’ un-caged his identity? Red Peter’s Way Out has been chosen as the official WITS Production at the 2011 National Arts Festival.

Tony Miyambo

Tony Miyambo is currently completing the fourth year of his Bachelor of Dramatic Arts at Wits University. Tony has performed in several productions over the last three years in collaboration with the institution. His highlights include; Chakalaka and Mayonnaise (2008) – workshoped piece, Something Out Of The Ordinary (2009) – directed by Pusetso Thibedi, Reservoir Dogs (2009) – directed by Keiran Reid, Mbeki and Other Nightmares (2010) – directed by Tsepo Wa Mamatu and Façade (2010) – directed by Bailey Snyman.

DIRECTOR

Phala Ookeditse Phala is currently pursuing his Master in Dramatic Art at Wits University. Phala has directed several theatre productions and radio dramas in Botswana and South Africa. His recent directing credits include being an assistant director to John Kani in Shakespeare’s Othello (2010) and directing Tsepo Wa Mamatu’s Mbeki and Other Nightmares for the National Arts Festival (2010).