Consecration meets ferocity
Performing artists Roslin Keepler, Lulu Mlangeni, Peter Lenso and a brilliant cast that spared no muscle as they took turns to display athletic prowess.
As a people we seek and for near-perfection in faraway places. While on the quest, we forget that this place is right in our midst and within oneself.
The 2015 Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance, Luyanda Sidiya, has arrived, and the award could not have come at a better time. All this was evident in his Siva Seven, the production that ran for a limited season at the John Kani Theatre.
Performing artists Roslin Keepler, Lulu Mlangeni, Peter Lenso and a brilliant cast that spared no muscle as they took turns to display athletic prowess. Siva is based on a story from the book of Daniel, where three men are thrown into a furnace and come out alive, and a few other scriptures in the Bible.
While still enthralled by the conjuncting storyline, the audience were given a choice to either fit in, or relate to the reality of finding answers to their walk into enlightenment, – be it pilgrim, sacred, or solemn rites.
It should be maintained, that while being taken into an immense yet exhilarating journey of soul searching, the story delves into the core matter of acceptance, closure and growth.
The music does not lag behind. There is laughter, shock, and sadness, and of course, answers on whether we should follow our own inner voice that whispers in silent soliloquy, or give all there is to the Creator.
Just when the audience are revelling in the idea of finding closure, the curtain abruptly comes down.
It is a pity that this production has had such a short season, as it is riveting and relentless. Sidiya has assured us that he will keep us on the edge of our seats with uncompromising work.
