Cue Online (Grahamstown)
Jessica Blasé
3 July 2009
Evolving gay identity in a rapidly changing South Africa is at the heart of a number of Festival productions this year, and features around the Think!Fest discussion table.
Janet Trisk, an Anglican priest who is chairing a discussion entitled Spirituality and Sexuality at Think!Fest, says, “The best way to break these stereotypes is to listen to people’s experiences”.
A noticeable topic in theatre this year is the African paradigm of sexuality. “It is too simplistic to say African culture doesn’t accept homosexuality.
It cannot be denied that for some younger black people, it is becoming easier to come out”. But, aside from some black communities seeing it as taboo, Trisk says that the Church, through a “denial of the body, and denial of sexuality” has been reluctant to come to terms with gayness.
“Ultimately we are a long way from where our Constitution would like us to be,” says Trisk.
Brothers struggle
One of the productions, Like Cain and Abel, addresses the issues of being black, being Christian and being gay.
Directed by Thapeolo Mthakathi Motloung, it explores the lack of tolerance in society towards people’s sexual orientations. With both parents having been priests, two brothers find themselves stuck between the expectations of what their culture tells them to be, and who they really are.
The younger brother is dealing with his closeted gayness, a story which Motloung takes from his own cousin’s experience.
For Motloung the story arose out of the fact that, to him, “there is a lack of tolerance in the black community; to them, there is everything wrong with it”.
“Within the black community, a man is a man, he is the head of the family.” No question about it, says Motloung.
He feels that Christians and South Africans preach tolerance in terms of colour, but do not do the same for sexual orientation. In the black community, if a man says he is gay, then he is seen as “trying to be white. There is nothing black about it”.
He hopes that in time, and through theatre such as his, this perception can be changed.
Black Lesbian
Ncamisa! The Women, directed by Peter Hayes also looks at black sexuality, and has been described as “Khayelitsha meets the L Word”.
The play is a one woman performance, by Pam N, and is based on her real-life experiences.
The actress’s surname is not used, simply for her own protection. Is it not safe to be a black lesbian in this society? Apparently not.
“This is what is going on in the world”, says Pam. For her, it is a true description of her life, and she does not hope to gain pity, but rather celebrate being a lesbian. “I hope that those in the closet can leave here saying I am a lesbian.”
For Hayes, Pam’s stories of prejudice and violence are similar to the stories of the struggle that white gay men were telling in the 1970s. By telling these stories, Hayes hopes to shift people’s head space.
“My work springs from a political place of equality”, says Hayes.
The bottom line, says Hayes, is that people need to be seen as people, despite their race, or sexual orientation. “In the end, our dreams, hopes and fears are all the same.”
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