A night of theatre and dance
Dumisani Ncube | Thursday August 31, 2017 16:15
Paya and Chweneyagae headlined the event with a stage play dubbed Boarder Line while Mophato Dance Theatre closed the night with their long time running act, Pula.
Boarder Line is a story of two South African men who met in a remand prison only to find out that they were brothers after spending sometime in the cell.
Thabo Modise, played by Paya, is a rich business mogul based in Botswana. He is arrested for beating up his wife who had found out about his affair with another woman. Letebele, played by Chweneyagae, is a pauper who was falsely accused of stealing cattle.
The conversation between the two starts when a drunk Modise is making noise in the cell seeking for permission to see his lawyer, which woke up Letebele who kindly tells the drunken man to lower his voice.
The verbal exchanges between the two men ends up with Letebele manhandling Modise who had insulted him.
With time they get along, as they share stories of what led to their arrests and also get to learn about each other’s background. They learn that they are both from Ramatlabama, with Modise feeling embarrassed because he had earlier shamed the village.
This triggers more interest from Letebele, who asks more questions regarding Modise’s childhood. Modise tells him that while in the village he had a friend called Small boy. While talking, a flash back of the two as boys appears on stage pushing each other on a wheelbarrow. Letebele’s questions infuriate Modise. He interrogates Letebele who tells him that they are brothers and has been sent by their father prior to his death to search for him in Botswana. Modise, a hard nut to crack, demands solid evidence as he thinks that his cellmate is one of those people after his money.
Letebele produces Modise’s birth certificate that he always carries in his pocket and also tells him of their father’s plea to be buried along the Ramatlabama boarder line where his ancestors are buried. The only proof that Modise wants is to see the grave, which they went to see a few days after being released and he agrees that indeed they are siblings.
Closing down the show was Mophato Dance Theatre who presented their long running act Pula on which they collaborated with the ILove Botswana ensemble.
The theatrical dance act celebrated the traditional rain making practice, whereby villagers and the chief would consult traditional doctors to communicate with gods.
This time around the script was different as it carried a lot of contemporary dance moves with less dialogue.
The dance ensemble presented different traditional and contemporary dance moves as they hoped and prayed for the rains. All the action was presented through dance moves.
In the end it rained with the flora and fauna glowing.