- New and revamped musical focuses on subjugation of women in society
- 14 of 15-member cast are women
- Unconventional show is slated for 8 and 9 December at Maitisong
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
After the debut of Setswana musical piece, “Another Devil on the Cross,” in 2018 the production team is back with a new and revamped rendition that focuses on the theme of subjugation of women in society.
Slated for 8 and 9 December at Maitisong, the director and writer of the production, Shabba Kgotlaetsho, says they decided to focus on subjugation of women in today’s society because it is subtle and hidden but remains a barrier to women in many aspects of human experience.
“It continues to affect women’s full participation in giving the world a deserved shape,” he said in an interview. “Women remain viewed as inferior to men incapable of holding positions of influence without subjecting them to their so-called ‘feeble’ emotional intelligence.”
Kgotlaetsho added that the reality is that women continue to outpace men in growth of the global population. This by itself makes them more readily available to more positions of influence and power but their absence in such positions cries out for attention because it reflects their subjugation.
“Our theatre production, however, focuses on one sector of society that depicts current affairs across society,” Kgotlaetsho noted. “The production even goes on to illustrate that even when women are given these positions of power and influence, it is mostly just a ceremonial appointment. Their influence is not just curtailed but is completely ignored or ridiculed.”
The production continues to use the Church as a mirror to look through and is based on real people and issues. The 2018 production reignited the debate between religion and its expectations through multiple encoded messages taken from challenges faced by contemporary society, including false hope, betrayal, violence against humanity and issues surrounding homosexuality and God.
Kgotlaetsho said the thought line behind the title of the musical is informed by the history and meaning of the cross as an object of hope for believers and the Church in particular. “This time around we took away the ‘angers’ from the owners to make it suitable for communal viewing,” he said.
“Some of the people to whom these issues happened have left the Church out of anger. Others spoke so emotionally and wanted us to be more explicit but we decided not to fight. We have to be considerate of our audiences whom we believe are still new to the theatre taste we are building. More importantly, we need to cultivate support, which is still not forthcoming.”
Presented by Lepatata Arts Ensemble, “Another Devil on the Cross” features 15 cast members14 of whom are women while both the technical and creative teams are led by women. “Society is taking our women to the sewer nowadays,” said Kgotlaetsho. It is so institutionalized, hence I am throwing my penny as an artist to say enough is enough.”
Tickets are priced at P200 and are now payable on delivery.