Dance of the La Gumas, Revolution, Rumba & Romance – starring Rehane Abrahams and Elton Landrew – tells the remarkable story of a heritage that the apartheid state tried to bury by imprisonment, banning orders and eventual exile.
Apartheid carved a hole in the heart of South African literature. Alex La Guma strides into that gap with the force of a Colossus. But who was this literary genius who was hounded, tortured and driven from his home country; who won countless awards all over the world, and who lies buried in the Heroes Acre of a Cuban cemetery having died in Havana while being the ANC’s chief representative for Cuba and the Caribbean?
Dance of the La Gumas tells the story of a dedicated couple – Blanche and Alex La Guma – who committed their lives to the liberation of the oppressed people of South Africa even while they were in exile. Vivid memories, evocative stories and the harrowing experiences depicted in La Guma’s writing are brought to life with elegance and style by playwrights Sylvia Vollenhoven and Basil Appollis. Throughout this compelling tale is a powerful love story that combines the gentility of dance, poetry, brutal torture and exotic global adventures with equal ease.
This new work by Basil Appollis and Sylvia Vollenhoven – opening at Artscape on April 9th – merges powerful performance with sound and video artistry to tell a historic story that has extensive contemporary relevance. It is a work that ensures we do not forget Alex La Guma and lose ourselves in the process. Dance of the La Gumas is a collaboration between the Artscape Theatre Centre and the District Six Museum
.The memories, stories and harrowing experiences are brought to life with music, dance and poetic accounts, using La Guma’s own writing. The play explores their early days in District Six when Alex and Blanche were young sweethearts, to their underground work for the Communist Party and his life as a Treason Trialist. Then comes the heartbreak of exile, the strangeness of London and finally a diplomatic posting in Cuba. The last dance of this heroic love story happens in Havana in October 1985 when Alex dies of a heart attack.
Alex’s widow Blanche La Guma who currently lives in Cape Town, and several real characters in our heroes’ lives are in ‘conversation’ with the theatre audience and the actors, using the graphic design artistry of Kirsti Cumming (The Life and Times of Michael K). The lighting is by Faheem Bardien.
WHAT: Dance of the La Gumas
WHERE: Artscape Arena Theatre, DF Malan St, Foreshore, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: 9 to 23 April 2022. Tuesday to Fridays at 7 pm and on Saturdays at 1 pm and 7 pm.
TICKETS: Tickets are R80 per person available through Computicket | T 086 191-58000 and 021 421-7695. Age restriction: No under 10’s.
INFO: Visit
.ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Rehane Abrahams is a performance artist from Cape Town, South Africa. She has performed several works, from Shakespeare to contemporary productions in South Africa and in America. She was a recipient of the FNB Vita Award for Best Actress in 2001. She is a co-founder of The Mothertongue Project which is a collective of women artists. She has written and performed a number of plays that have appeared in South Africa, San Francisco and London. She has also appeared in numerous television shows.
Elton Landrew is best known for his roles in the David/Kramer/Taliep Pietersen musicals District Six and Kat and the Kings. Born in Namaqualand and raised in Namibia, Landrew has also appeared in several television shows including Huis van Liefde, Arendsvlei and Suidooster.
