Review: Invigorating solo theatre at Magnet Summer Season 2024

It was invigorating to attend the four solo shows which are being presented by Magnet Theatre in its theatre as part of its Summer Season 2024. The four shows are being presented as double bills – two plays per night. The double bills are alternating, 7.30pm until December 12.

Three of the plays are by artists who auditioned for Magnet’s Youth Company. Six of the applicants who were not successful were invited by Magnet to submit proposals for solo shows. Magnet’s Jenni Reznek told me that they were so impressed by the quality of the applicants for the Youth Company that they wanted to give the opportunity for them to stage their own work. They found that miraculously after a productive and prolific year, that there was still a lump of budget in the Magnet coffers. Magnet awarded the artists money to produce the plays and mentors to guide them. These are commissioned plays.

The three new plays are Unpacking Mr Becker by Jenna Fish, Intsebenzo by Nasfa Ncanywa and Pumla’s Song by Khanya Ngcuka. Uhambo (the travelling) by Buhle T. Stefane is a reworking of the piece which has been previously presented at Theatre Arts. Stefane is a member of Magnet Youth Company. He is currently in Glimmer which is on at Magnet as part of its Summer Season (ends December 13). In addition to writing the scripts, the artists perform as well in these shows.

I was intending to write a detailed review of the four plays but with a busy theatre week, the time has run out and I do want to urge people to go and see these intriguing works, so here are some quickie impressions.

Buhle Stefane’s Uhambo (the travelling) is exceptional – brilliant storytelling which is heightened by physical theatre and dance. It is an autobiographical work in which he grapples with mental health issues and his family’s rejection. It is intense and very brave- searching for home and a safe space. Stefane is a dancer – it is his first love – and his use of physical movement is extraordinary as he navigates the space. It is not easy material and yet Stefane has transmuted the pain into a visually beautiful piece of theatre which transcends the grief. He owns and contains his pain and grief and uses his body – and theatre – to carry on. Uhambo is inspirational, uplifting and breathtaking in terms of his artistry. Powerful use of video projection, props (such as a strip of silk as he contemplates taking his life – the terror of that moment with the silk).

Nasfa Ncanywa’s Intsebenzo is powerful, angry and uncomfortable. The multi-award winning Ncanywa is a sensational performer. The set is dissected by strings (plastic, wire, I don’t know) rigged together. It is labyrinth, womb, trap, web, game, playground, obstacle race. Ncanywa moves, slithers, prowls in and out of the rigged pulleys. She also designed the magnificent set with the director of the Intsebenzo – Smamkele Mentyisi. This is one of the most beautiful sets that I have seen this year. Its beauty is a foil to the anger and devastation and rupture which digs dip into “absent black domestic workers, the relationships between their absence and what is fractured or missed in their lives of their children while they are working in the city.” It is heart-breaking to watch. Primarily in isiXhosa, Intsebenzo veers between “performance” and “play” and I think that it could do with some tightening in terms of “play”. The use of black soil to anoint an animal skull is a vivid image. Cow dung (yes, it reeks, trigger warning if you are prone to nausea) also becomes a means of healing and reclamation. 

Jenna Fish Unpacking Mr Becker is sweet and heart-warming play about a young woman who is faced with sorting out the possessions of her recently deceased grandfather. The unpacking leads to the exhuming of family secrets which intersect with Apartheid South Africa. I think that this is a play which provides a refreshing take by a young person on the life of a grandparent. The text could do with fleshing out and the performance could do with a feisty injection of physical theatre. A very interesting story – underlying the importance of treasuring and archiving stories – while people are still with us.

Khanya Ngcuka’s, Pumla’s Song “presents an unconventional image of mothers who took up arms for freedom. The play navigates motherhood and soldier-hood, using memory, and gestural language”. Ngcuka’s physical performance (lovely use of mime) is remarkable as she tackles interesting terrain. However, I feel that the script could be developed and also fleshed out. The staging is wonderful – vividly conjuring up various spaces/rooms of Pumla’s life.

The staging for all the solo plays is impressive, with outstanding lighting plots by Magnet’s Themba Stewart. Intsebenzo is a masterclass in lighting design. For instance, there is video projection on to a screen, synchronised with the performer, Nasfa Ncanywa who is under a table (conjuring up home, instrument of labour and bondage). It is lighting magic. Stewart has also designed the lighting plots for Glimmer and for Mina Thina (also in the Magnet Summer Season – aimed at 3-7 year olds). A big congratulations to Magnet, the actor/performers, mentors and creative teams for presenting this intriguing showcase of solo plays and for providing a platform to tell stories, which invite important conversations. I hope that these pieces will all be staged again.

✳ Featured image: Buhle T Stefane in Uhambo/(The Travelling). Photo: Mark Wessels.