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Our Lady of Benoni , livre ebook

WITS University Press - Zakes Mda

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145 pages

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Zakes Mda’s satire is a kaleidoscopic display of the extremes to which men (and by implication women) are prepared to go in terms of valuing what is ‘virginal’. Mda presents us with the consequences of transgression: that which is seen as polluted and judged to be dangerous to the good health and purity of a group, a society, a culture. Taboos, superstition, customs and moral ethics become the subjects of inquiry and are, at times, subjected to ribald satire. This play cuts into a virtuoso style of theatre that can in no way be confused with the objectives and methods of conventional realism. Mda establishes a unique style and tone that is innovative, entertaining and challenging. It fuses satirical elements derived from classical poetry with a modernist sensibility that synthesises Brechtian and Absurdist features of theatricality, using characters as types and montage. Above all, in this work there is a profound exploration of what it means to operate in the politically charged landscape that defines post-apartheid South Africa with its cultural pluralities and differentials in access to resources and agency. Stylistically adventurous and unafraid to deviate from conventionally accepted norms, Mda is iconoclastic in his handling of the ways in which attitudes to power, superstition, ethics and sex are constructed. The cultural discourse of patriarchy and the ‘regime of truths’ regarding ideals and taboos defining female sexuality, its obligations, and its custodianship are the focus of this play.

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Publié par	WITS University Press
Date de parution	01 août 2012
Nombre de lectures	3
EAN13	9781868145942
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

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Extrait

Our Lady of

ZAKES MDA

Wits University Press 1 Jan Smuts Avenue Johannesburg South Africa www.witspress.co.za

Play © Zakes Mda Introduction © Sarah Roberts Published edition © Wits University Press

First published 2012

ISBN: 978-1-86814-567-6(print) ISBN: 978-1-86814-594-2(pdf)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978. Application to perform this work in public and to obtain a copy of the play should be made to: Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO), P O Box 31627, Braamfontein, 2017. No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained.

Edited by Pat Tucker Cover design and page layout by Michelle Staples Printed and bound by Creda Communications

Contents

Of Voices and Visions Introduction by Sarah Roberts

Mda on Mda Interview with Pat Tucker

Glossary

Our Lady of Benoni

Act One Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3

Act Two Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3

vii

xxvii

xxxi

3 17 35

62 82 97

Of Voices And Visions

A Satirical Staging of ‘Revelations’ and Redemption in a New Play by Zakes Mda

1 Sarah Roberts

Our Lady of Benoniteems with anecdotes and incidents, pulses with desire and frustration, juxtaposes different cultural norms and plays exuberantly with fantasies and truths that cluster around the subject of virginity. Its tone is zany, its subject matter serious. Zakes Mda’s satire is a kaleidoscopic display of the extremes to which men and women are prepared to go to preserve and value what is ‘virginal’. Mda presents us with the consequences of transgressing socially instilled norms in sexual behaviour: that which is polluted is seen and judged to be dangerous to the good health and purity of a group, a society and its culture. He shows us how taboos, superstition, custom and moral ethics construct a ‘map’ to live by in order to maintain an acceptable reputation and avoid being stigmatised. Mda also exposes the superstitions, customs and beliefs about sexuality that guide our everyday behaviour. His new play explores relations between knowledge and sex, along with how these are symbolised in the way we speak, write and think about the female body and sexual politics. Mda’s writing draws on his extensive experience as a theatre-maker who is thoroughly familiar with crafting a means of speaking to an audience through the multiple resources of the medium of theatre. He uses the setting (place and time), characterisation, dialogue and action in a manner

vii

that is both playful and profoundly challenging and searching in its treatment of contemporary issues. His writing also draws on a richly informed and subtle appreciation of multiple dramatic and literary tradition .s Our Lady of Benonifuses satirical elements derived from classical poetry with a modernist sensibility. Mda synthesises Brechtian and Absurdist features of theatricality (story-telling techniques and ways of developing characters) that allow us to appreciate the ﬁctional quality of the story he is telling. But at the same time, this work is a profound exploration of what it means to operate in the real world, the social and politically charged landscape that deﬁnes post-apartheid South Africa. Stylistically adventurous and unafraid to deviate from established practices, Mda is boldly confrontational in his handling of the ways in which he shows us how attitudes to power, superstition, ethics and sex are constructed. He demonstrates how both African and European value systems, ethical codes and mores have traditionally been forged from a male perspective and thus establish unequal power relations between the sexes. The play portrays the way male views of sexual relations and female sexuality establish norms, ideals and taboos. Through a multiple layering of stories and images he shows how gendered identity constructs the boundaries of what is sexually permissible and endorsed. To put it simply, there are different expectations of girls and boys, men and women in terms of the way they behave, and these differences are culturally learnt, either consciously or unconsciously. The obligations and custodianship of the woman’s body and sexual desires are the focus of this play. Our Lady of Benoni is a carnivalesque display of the relations among different forms of ‘knowledge’ embedded in social relationships where patterns of dominance and mastery

viii

are taken for granted. The stage action is complemented by ongoing offstage action about which we, the audience, are updated: it concerns the trial of a priest who has been charged with rape and who, however inappropriately, in the light of his actions, has garnered support from women because he endorses the re-introduction of virginity testing. This ‘spiritual guide’ is constantly referred to as the ‘Right Reverend Comrade Chief my Leader’. The title fuses traditional spiritual authority with modern secular political terminology and invites us to recognise the absurdity of holding this man in such high esteem. The role of heading a community seems to belong unquestioningly to a male authority ﬁgure. But Mda asks us to question this. The proliferation of powers granted to this male leader hints at the extremes (and potential abuse) of such powers. It also demands that we consider the dangers of unthinking acceptance, endorsement or support of any leader’s actions and behaviour. The title of Mda’s play announces that the most cherished standards and beliefs (which we might regard as ‘guiding principles to live by’) are available for scrutiny and even ridicule. The ﬁrst two words,Our Lady, invoke both the Catholic Madonna and her subsequent ‘visitations’ to Lourdes 2 in France and to Portugal. The rest of the title (of Benoni) locates us ﬁrmly amid the mine dumps and urban sprawl of a modern East Rand town. Past and current associations with what Benoni has come to ‘represent’ are evoked. These cultural associations include a familiar ﬁlm and television advertisement of the late twentieth century that relied on the unexpected juxtaposition of a sophisticated lifestyle with more everyday mundane reality. In the advert a sultry and glamorous young woman is

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