SPAR DRAMA CENTRE

60 MINS

SAT 1200

R 80

Who would ever have thought that the story of a refugee could be funny ….it is!!!

Madonna famously quoted, "I am a survivor. I am like a cockroach; you just can't get rid of me." Hutu extremists referred to the Tutsi minority as cockroaches during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. In South Africa, the President referred to his political opponents as cockroaches and rats.

A trilogy, written and performed by Jonathan Khumbulani Nkala, a young man from Kwekwe, Zimbabwe, living in Cape Town, and directed and edited by Bo Petersen, bears witness to the dramatic arc of Jonathan’s life. Despite great hardships, COCKROACH is a story of resilience and triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

The story moves from his childhood and a bicycle thief, through his first poignant but treacherous love to his dangerous crossing of the great Limpopo River into South Africa … and adulthood.

Business Day Review (17th March 2011)

Childhood: THE BICYCLE THIEF

We meet the boy/child Khumbu and his close-knit family. We observe the special relationship he and his father, David, have with each other and with David’s bicycle. We see the loss of this family. And we meet the bicycle thief. This is the story of the powerlessness of the boy/child Khumbu and the abuse of a vulnerable family, justified in the name of a cultural practice.

Youth: FAITH IN LOVE

Khumbu is a now a teenager. He is in love for the first time. However, to be in love as a teenager who is a member of the Apostolic Church in Kwekwe is dangerous and treacherous. To be Ndebele in a town that is predominantly Shona is also dangerous and treacherous. To fall in love with a rich man’s daughter when you come from a poor family is especially dangerous and treacherous. Witness the loss of innocence and the shocking brutality of Christian fundamentalism under the guise of proper conduct.

Adulthood: THE CROSSING

The last play of the trilogy deals with Khumbu as a young man, in search of “life in abundance” He takes you on a journey from the dusty streets of Kwekwe, across the raging Limpopo River and into the perilous life of an illegal immigrant in South Africa.

Despite all these hardships, COCKROACH is a story of resilience and triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

Madonna has famously quoted, "I am a survivor. I am like a cockroach; you just can't get rid of me."

Hutu extremists referred to the Tutsi minority as cockroaches during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. In South Africa the President referred to his political opponents as cockroaches and rats.

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS PRODUCTION

Jonathan Nkala- playwright and performer

Jonathan is a published playwright, actor, poet and comedian. Upon arriving in South Africa from the ravaged Zimbabwe in 2002, he worked as a gardener, a handyman and a vendor. In 2006 he was cast in a Motorola commercial where he met Bo Petersen, who worked with him as his drama coach. They formed a dynamic partnership and together created THE CROSSING and THE BICYCLE THIEF. THE CROSSING was performed at the Harare International Festival of The Arts in 2009. The two plays were also performed at Grahamstown National Arts Fringe Festival, The Baxter Theatre, New Space Theatre, The Cape Town Holocaust Centre and many more. THE CROSSING was part of The Voorkamerfees in Darling and toured schools in the Eastern and Western Cape. Jonathan has appeared in two international films, DISGRACE and STRING CAESAR and has produced a demo CD of his poetry and music. He performed one of his poems in the South African Parliament on World Refugees Day in 2008. He has been involved in different workshops including storytelling, creative writing and acting. He performed his two plays and a poetry programme as part of the Global DanceFest in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA in October 2010. His plays, THE CROSSING and THE BICYCLE THIEF, were published by Junkets Publishers in 2009. COCKROACH an anthology of three of his play was published by Junkets Publishers in January 2011. COCKROACH was premiered at Die Suidoosterfees in 2011.
THE CROSSING was chosen as a semi-finalist in Proyecto 34. This results in THE CROSSING being translated into Spanish and published online. COCKROACH will be part of The Hilton Festival in September 2011. Plans to tour to Ireland and the USA for 2012 are in the pipeline.

BO PETERSEN-Director

Bo Petersen has been involved in the performing arts for over 30 years. She is best known as an actor, on stage, TV and film but has developed a real love for directing. She began this journey 13years ago with multi-talented Graham Weir and has directed 3 of his award winning plays. Over the past three years she and Jonathan Nkala have been working together. She edited,directed and produced his “The Crossing” and “The Bicycle Thief “and travelled with these productions to a festival in the USA in October 2010. She and Jonathan developed “Faith in Love” which forms the third part of a trilogy called “Cockroach” which was premiered in January 2011 as part of Die Suidoosterfees. They are currently looking for funding for yet another of Jonathan’s plays “My Home Affairs” which they hope to present at festivals both nationally and internationally.
Bo directed “BLACKBIRD” in 2010 which was performed at the Intimate Theatre, Cape Town, to critical acclaim. She received a Fleur du Cap nomination for Best New Director and her actor Warrick Grier won Best Actor for his performance in the play. In March 2011 they repeated the play at The Baxter, again to critical acclaim. She’s directed a show “Hot Cross Nuns” which is on at The Baxter currently and is playing to full houses. She has established an auxillary career as a dialogue and drama coach for the film and advertising industry. She has worked with international stars Sydney Poitier, Michael Caine, Ryan Reynolds and William Hurt.