ANTAKALIPA

Fatherhood  At the Market Theatre for the opening of "Fatherhood", a play by the Alex Theatre Company that delves into absent fathers. The play explores issues of shame, pain, longing and manhood. Who are you when you don't have anything to validate you. No pictures, no memories. You don't exist. No knowledge of your history, heritage and culture. You don't know your clan names, you don't belong, you don't know who you are.  The show starts off with a saxophone playing in the background. It is melancholic and reinforces the themes of longing and identity. It is reflective and sombre, it serves as the music for this poignant play. Three performers are faced at the wall, backs to the audience. As they turn, the show commences. They tell stories about their fathers and how shoes, ties, hats and jackets tie in with their fathers identities. You can tell a lot about a man by his shoes. They are reflective, they are frustrated, tales lace...

Father and I  Day 2 at the Market Theatre to watch this poignant and emotionally charged play "Father and I". A play that delves into interpersonal relationships between fathers and their offspring. It explores what it means to be a father. To have someone teach you the intracies of life, someone who inspires you and hones skills in you so you can live life with purpose and deliberately. To instill good values, to be dependable, honest and trustworthy. Care and support your family. Someone to teach you stick-fighting and being an honorable man. The stories are told in the first person, making them subjective and personal. The stories evoke nostalgia and have the performers reminiscing about simpler times. Tata taking us to Spur every month and buying me ice-cream after school. He used to be a good guy when he was younger but now we are estranged, yes, he has children all over but still. We see one of the performers regress to a childlike state recounting and reliv...