Stage: Grieve, that is how you survive, choreo-poem navigating through the complexities of loss

Exciting theatre news is the presentation of Grieve, that is how you survive, in Cape Town at Theatre Arts from February 28 to March 2, 2025 (four performances). This choreo-poem written, performed and directed by Grace Storm and Thandiwe Nqanda incorporates physical theatre and music and follows the journey of two young women who are “navigating through and discovering their grief”. Read on for more. Info as supplied:

 “One day I want to be like water and know how to hold space for things to stay alive.”

South African performers and poets Grace Storm and Thandiwe Nqanda are bringing their production, Grieve, that is how you survive” to Theatre Arts Observatory in Cape Town. The choreo-play first debuted at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda in June 2024.

The play is infused with poetry, physical theatre and music, looking at the importance of grieving and the journey of loss we experience throughout our lives from when we are children. It navigates through the different ways in which the act of letting go arrives and how we can find ways of healing through remembering, honouring and allowing.

Grace is an applied theatre practitioner, facilitator, author and educator, bringing her multi-disciplinary expertise in the field. Along with Thandiwe Nqanda, an acclaimed performance poet and author who equally offers her expertise in musical poetry.

The play is an extension of their respective poetry collections on grief and healing, focusing on navigating through the complexities of loss.

In their writing, they explore an intimate journey with grief, unpacking moments and even personifying grief as “the woman who comes to visit when you least expect it.”

Their poetry and work reflect their own experiences and connect through a language that we often hesitate to speak – grief.

“Just like we do with love, we need to give grief a chance. It is there to teach us something about ourselves that we didn’t know existed.” – Thandiwe

This offering is a compelling portrayal of what it means to grieve, grow, and ultimately find solace in the act of letting go.

“It is only when we let go that we realize just how much we have been holding onto. And only then do we see how beautiful of a thing it was, and even more beautiful to have had a chance to have held it.”

– Grace

The narrative

Grieve, that is how you survive follows through different stages of loss, from childhood into adulthood, examining how grief shapes, changes, and teaches us.

✳ Grieve, that is how you survive, written, performed and directed by Grace Storm (standing) and Thandiwe Nqanda. Sponsored content. Images supplied.