Cold Case: Revisiting our History

The stage is set to tell the story of  Dulcie September 

One of the motivations for me going back to university was to equip myself with the skills to tell the stories of growing up in District Six and on the Cape Flats. Not only my stories, but the stories of many who cannot tell their own. We’re a deeply divided society, a country still trying to recover from an oppressive past. We cannot sweep it all under the carpet and expect to move on. There will always be a bump there to trip us up, to nag at us to pull it straight.

People need to be acknowledged. Maybe nothing will undo the hurt but at least it’s not being ignored, we’re not being told to get over it and move on. We need to listen to each other with respect, be slow to judge. We need to know that someone saw our pain and understands; only then can we move forward.

I am encouraged by the two shows I saw recently at the Baxter Theatre – Cold Case: Revisiting Dulcie September, which premiered at the National Arts Festival in 2014 and My Word! Redesigning Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace: District Six is, of course, the name of the novel by teacher and author Richard Rive, published in 1986. The tragedy of forced removals in District Six has been well-recorded. Less well-known is the story of anti-apartheid activist and ANC representative, Dulcie September who was assassinated in Paris in 1988.

The Baxter Theatre’s intimate Golden Arrow Studio provided the perfect backdrop to the personal stories of a childhood with an abusive father, a budding activist and a committed freedom fighter. Denise Newman is an accomplished story-teller who moved many members of the audience to tears, made us laugh at reminiscences of growing up in places like Athlone (where September was from). She held our attention for more than an hour, all eyes riveted on her one-person show … surrounded by the cardboard boxes which represent the cold case of what remains of the woman. 27 years later her killer has not been found. Theories abound, the mystery remains unsolved…

The biased history which we were forced to learn during apartheid needs to be balanced by stories such as these, giving value to our own experiences. The tens of thousands of people who attended her funeral, the street, square and boulevard named after her in Paris, make us proud of our struggle.

When I met Newman afterwards I couldn’t help enveloping her in a hug, I felt that I knew her, or at least the woman she had brought to life on the small stage. The run at the Baxter ended last night but look out for a couple of shows in August at the Artscape Theatre, to celebrate Woman’s Day.

Cold Case has won the Standard Bank Ovation Award and the Adelaide Tambo Award for Celebrating Human Rights through the Arts.

http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/richard-rive

http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/dulcie-evonne-september

The Tenth Sekunjalo EduJazz Concert

I don't think that there were many people with dry eyes as the concert hall at the Baxter Theatre in Rondebosch vibrated with the energy of jazz musicians, culminating in a poignant rendering of the national anthem. On Friday evening I was once again privileged to attend the Sekunjalo EduJazz Concert. The concert raises funds for learners from the poorest communities in the Western Cape and currently, 75 schools benefit from the initiative.

The money raised goes to bursaries and workshops, promoting and developing young musicians, encouraging the spread of music and culture and contributing to the alleviation of crime in our townships. The annual concert gives these young people the opportunity to perform on stage in front of an audience. The programme usually follows the format of the children playing during the first half, followed by a headline act in the second. 

One of the products of this initiative is the Delft Big Band from one of the poorest communities in the W. Cape with high unemployment and crime levels. Yet you would not know it to see and hear these young people, proudly making beautiful music with secondhand or borrowed instruments.

This year, we were treated to the sounds of Ifidyoli Strings (a Beau Soleil Project) and the EduJazz Collaboration featuring Alexander Sinton, and Heathfield High School and the EduJazz ensemble (made up of students from various schools). The headline act was provided by Jimmy Dludlu who is a South African Music Awards winner for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. He plays traditional and modern jazz, music from West and Central Africa and Latin America.

Jimmy Dludlu is a genius. With his pork pie hat and black-rimmed spectacles he cuts a stylish figure. He has an amazing stage presence and ability to engage the audience and had people dancing  in the aisles before long. At the end of his set he invited the young musicians up on to the stage to join him. Playing with Jimmy Dludlu on stage must be enough for these kids to build memories on, but when he actually gave his guitar to the kids to play a few bars, I had goosebumps. I have these new South Africa moments that I collect (things that would have been unthinkable pre-1994) and this definitely ranks high on the list. The emotion in the hall was palpable and it seemed like the most natural thing to lead into the anthem. 

Well done to Sekunjalo for walking the talk of empowerment. And we had fun doing it.