July 21, 2006
By Lucille Davie
GET to Ghoema if you feel like lifting the spirits and singing along to vibrant ghoemaliedjies.
Ghoema, a musical revue that explores the roots of Afrikaans music in the early days of the Cape, is the creation of David Kramer and Taliep Petersen, whose previous joint efforts, District Six, Poison and Kat and the Kings, have toured internationally.
A ghoema is a drum made from a small wooden barrel from which the lid and the bottom have been removed. An animal skin is stretched over one end of the barrel and the result is a portable, resonant drum. The word possibly originates from "ngoma", a Swahili word for drum used by slaves from Zanzibar and Madagascar.
Says Kramer of the play: "Ghoema is an attempt to re-imagine the fact and the fiction, to rewrite the history of early Afrikaans music and acknowledge the nameless people who created and contributed to it."
Kramer says that back in the 1970s the song "Bobbejaan klim die berg" got him thinking about the roots of Afrikaans folk music. He came to realise that most of these songs had their origins in the melting pot of slave cultures that dates back to the 1650s in the Cape.
The musical explains those origins, all hinged on the Dutch East India Company establishing a refreshment station in the Cape, on its route to trade spices in Asia. Slaves were brought to the Cape from Mozambique, Madagascar, India, Ceylon and Indonesia. They brought their varied languages and cultures, but, more importantly for Kramer, they brought their musical instruments and lively songs.
The cast includes Loukmaan Adams, Danny Butler, Munthir Dullisear, Zenobia Kloppers, Gary Naidoo and Carmen Maarman. They sing their hearts out and the band plays drums, accordion, banjo and guitars.
Kloppers in particular has her tongue around the charming Cape Afrikaans accent. Her solo "Een meisje loos", described as a "Dutch straatliedjie" in which a young woman disguises herself as a sailor because she is in love with the captain, was beautifully rendered. I would have enjoyed more solos from her.
The audience loved the songs, and couldn't get enough of them - some had them springing to their feet and clapping wildly or bursting into laughter. I felt though, that halfway through the second act, the songs began to sound the same. Different vocal arrangements and more varied choreography would have sustained the momentum.
But this doesn't distract from the charm of Ghoema, and the bubbly energy and enthusiasm of the performers. The simple stage set - a range of different size barrels, chests and baskets - was perfect.
But be aware that if you don't understand Afrikaans, you'll miss a lot of the innuendos.
The musical is on at the University of Johannesburg's Art Centre until Sunday, 23 July.
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