By Chandrea Gerber
DAVID Kramer and Taliep Peterson's hit musical about love and life in District Six, Cape Town, is being brought to the stage again by the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) Song & Dance Company, as part of the university's contribution to the country's Decade of Democracy celebrations.
A bittersweet love story set against the apartheid regime's 1960s forced removals of District Six, a vibrant, culturally diverse area, the eponymous play first hit the stage in 1985 and went on to play to full houses internationally and locally.
Now, 36 years after it was declared a whites-only area, old District Six residents are starting to return. "What was lost can never be recreated, but we can learn from our mistakes and make sure that we do not repeat them," says the rector and vice-chancellor of RAU, Professor Roux Botha. "The show serves to bring the history home to our students - to keep alive the memory."
The vibrant musical is directed by Zane Meas, Vaughan van Zyl is the musical director, and choreography is by René Bradford and Elton Fortune. The young, enthusiastic members of the Song & Dance Company are the stars of the show.
"That RAU has undertaken to tell South African stories that talk of this rich diverse culture of ours is 'lekker'. And now I get a chance to tell it to a new generation," says Meas, best known for his role as mine manager Jack van Onselen in Isidingo.
The RAU Song & Dance Company was founded in 1998, and "District Six", sponsored by the RAU Alumni Network and Classic FM, is their contribution to the university's Decade of Democracy celebrations.
"It is fitting that we bring this wonderful musical to the stage now," says Botha, as "District Six celebrates a lost time and place. It helps us not forget where we have been, and poignantly reminds us how far we have come".
District Six is declared a "whites only" area and residents start receiving letters from "the board" offering them alternative accommodation on the Cape Flats. Nines, a local gangster, is apolitical to begin with but slowly starts to understand the implications of the apartheid laws through the mentoring of Damaka, a blind herbalist. Nines has a crush on Mary, and when he discovers that Cassiem and Sandy are having an affair, he betrays them to the law.
District Six will be staged from 12 May to 15 May at 8pm, at the RAU Sanlam Auditorium, Auckland Park. Bookings can be made at Computicket on 011 340 8000 or on www.computicket.com. Tickets for the opening night are R80, including refreshments. Prices for the other performances range from R30 to R60. Concession prices for senior citizens, students and block bookings are available.
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