Return of the Ancestors by Mike van Graan comes to the Wave Theatre, fresh from the success of his multiple-award-winning one-person multi-sketch satire, My Fellow South Africans.
Genuflecting to the South African theatre classic Woza Albert in which Jesus returns to South Africa at the height of apartheid, in Return of the Ancestors, Steve Biko and Neil Aggett return to South Africa in 2024 to determine whether their sacrifices have been worth it. From pillar to (no) post, from Nkandla to Phala Phala, from darkness to more darkness, the struggle icons traverse the rainbow nation in search of the pot(holes?) of gold.
In February/March this year, Van Graan had a writer’s residency at the University of Free State where he worked on a new script, The Good White, set against the backdrop of the Fees Must Fall Campaign. He also used the residency to update the original 2014 script of Return of the Ancestors that marked 20 years of democracy and set it in 2024 to mark three decades since the first post-apartheid elections.
At the official launch of the writer’s residency, two Bloemfontein-based actors – Rondo Mpiti-Spies and Sikhuthali Bonga – performed excerpts of the play under the direction of Walter Strydom, a lecturer in UFS’s Drama Department. Van Graan was so impressed with their work that he invited them to rehearse the full script with a view to touring the production around the country in much the same way as he has done with My Fellow South Africans.
“I hope that this short run at the Wave will launch these fine, talented young actors onto the national stage, and provide them with a regular stream of income at least for a while” said Van Graan.
The show runs for 75 minutes, and the Wave has a bar area and balcony for conversations before and after the show. On each Sunday that bookmarks the run, the show will start at 16.00 while curtains will go up at 19.30 during the week.
WHAT: Return of the Ancestors by Mike van Graan
WHERE: Wave Theatre, 44 Long Street, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: 6-13 October 2024
TICKETS: R145 each and may be booked HERE
INFO: Mike van Graan T 0829003349 | E art27m@iafrica.com
