Exit/Exist returns to the Market Theatre
Gregory Maqoma will turn 50 years old on October 16 and he honours this journey with a work that is sentimental to him.
Gregory Maqoma will turn 50 years old on October 16 and he honours this journey with a work that is sentimental to him.
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A season of Exit/Exist will be returning to the Market Theatre from June 22 – 25 and the National Arts Festival from June 27 – 28.
This performance is one of last performances as Maqoma retires from dancing as he wraps up current works and hand over successively.
50 strong, Maqoma has been a catalyst of change in the artistic industry, breaking new ground, addressing existing stereotypes and speaking against injustices in the sector.
Through his award-winning storytelling, Maqoma has introduced the world to characters and storylines that have captured the zeitgeist of history and remain resonant to this day.
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Exit/Exist is a sensitive solo work which will make a return to The Market Theatre for a
four day season during the month of June.
This piece still resonates with South Africa today, as we continue to weave through the necessary discourse of land as a nation.
It reflects and explores the memory and legacy of Maqoma’s ancestor, Chief Jongumsobomvu Maqoma, one of the most renowned Xhosa leaders, who was born in 1798, arrested when he ordered the English colonisers to liberate Xhosa land and died in Robben Island in 1873.
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The core of this piece is memory; rephrasing the notion of existence and the notion of simply existing in order to exist. This production takes a moment to pause; to look back; to rewind the tape to the days when the tapestry of South Africa was about the collision of biographies.
A deliberate choice of less exposition and a bigger emphasis on how we use the visual element to tell this tale, while underpinning the musicality, that we hope will evoke the spirit of the time.
Under the direction of James Ngcobo, Maqoma choreographs Exit/Exist accompanied on stage by four South African singers and a guitarist Giuliano Modarelli, who all help facilitate the telling of the story through their harmonious vocals.
The musical collaboration from Simphiwe Dana, Giuliano Modarelli and IComplete carries Maqoma through this solo performance.
David Tlale designs costume into masterpieces of arts which edifies the narration of the story Maqoma is telling.
“The return of Exit/Exist at the Market Theatre where it was first premiered in 2012 is not only befitting to the extraordinary journey I have taken so far, but marks 150 years since the passing of my ancestor, Chief Maqoma.
“The issue of land that is emphasised in the work is a trail of human misery and degradation, loss and hope,” shares Maqoma.
As he retires from dancing, Maqoma believes his legacy is one of telling ground-breaking stories as a way of social commentary contributing to South Africa’s narrative and proudly the world over. It has been 50 years of firsts, 50 years of learning, 50 years of anguish and frustration, but most importantly it has been 50 years of Gregory Vuyani Maqoma being alive.
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