Sirkelpad Stirs the Schools
- Review by Carla Lever
It’s easy to forget just how magical puppetry can be. As world-weary adults, we know ‘how it’s done’, even as we appreciate the effects produced. So, despite an ingrained mistrust of smaller humans, it actually was a real treat to sit amongst an audience of appreciative schoolchildren during Isangqa / Sirkelpad - a bilingual Afrikaans / isiXhosa tale of small children and big situations.
Photo by Richard Stupart
Sirkelpad follows the tale of two children who are struggling with the concept of death, something that has touched their lives at a very young age. Through dream, memory, imagination and spirit guidance, both come to discover a knowledge and understanding of the world that can heal their lives.
The children loved it. Despite the tale being poetic and possibly slightly complex for a very young audience, it was rewarding to relive the magic of puppet animation by hearing collective gasps when wooden puppets came to life, delighted squeals when they moved mischievously about the stage, even a few sniffles as they were hurt or distressed.
My Afrikaans proficiency is something of a joke amongst friends, but I was perfectly comfortable with this simple yet moving tale. I am, in fact, so glad that Out the Box fest-ers have the opportunity of seeing a play that is not only in Afrikaans but is also performed with touches of isiXhosa – there are too few productions that allow these languages their stage-space and keeping them in the public performance space allows the possibilities they afford to be reimagined, re-experienced in ways that everyday dialogue cannot hold.
With a beautiful set by Ilka Louw and an interesting text by Amy Jeptha, we’re invited into a world of children’s fears, of absence and dreamscape, of loss and lack of understanding. While not everything about the text worked for me (and I’m very aware this could well be a language barrier issue), the children were captivated by the puppet world and intrigued by the tale that was so proficiently told, particularly by Cindy Mkaza and Sharon Martin.
Take a trip down this path, then. It’s a pretty interesting journey.
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