By holding up a mirror to South Africa, artists on the Fringe programme offer audiences a chance to reflect as well as to escape, writes TRACEY SAUNDERS

During the 1980s, the National Arts Festival was one of the few places where truth was spoken to power. In 2017, the born free generation is once again raising its voice – and it’s on the Fringe where their voices speak the loudest.

As the largest non-curated performing arts platform in the country, the Fringe programme this year amplifies the despair felt by many. The daily reality of public and private violence, unemployment and poverty seems to be informing the creative practice of many young South Africans.

In recent weeks, ordinary men have taken to the streets to show their solidarity with the #NotInMyName campaign, joining women who have been screaming for years – from the stages and the sidelines. The prevalence of plays dealing with sexual violence perhaps points towards our country’s own “Nirbhaya moment”, the Indian feminist revolution sparked by the 2012 rape of a medical student. Women’s Tears is inspired by the Marikana massacre and tells the story of the widows who remain and the failure of accountability after the murders.

Another unnecessary and tragic death, that of Michael Kompape who died in a pit latrine in 2014 inspired Izim le Toilet.

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The epic story of an Indian family during apartheid, Out of Bounds features Tazme Pillay and Tailyn Ramsamy, who create an entire community of characters on stage. Fearful youngsters, feared grandmothers and the generation in between are recreated with a twist of cloth and sleight of hand.

More recent sociopolitical events are the subject matter of a play by young Grade 3 to 6 learners in the Fees Must Fall Drama. The political gaze is not merely inward though, with writer Bhekani Biyela exploring the lives of Somali women in Ants Job.

Tension between traditional cultural practices and modern is another theme which many have chosen to explore. The practice of ukuthwalwa is tackled in Nimbandini and Nomalizo – The Brave, while Pheko ya Pula and Inyathuko look at relationships that defy tradition.

Delicious escape

In addition to artists mirroring the state of the nation, they are also giving audiences ample opportunities to escape it – and love and desire, friendship and family are the safe havens to which we retreat, despite (and sometimes because of) reality.

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The delicious Laced introduces an unusual genre, the dance detective story. Beautifully crafted and performed by Lee van der Merwe and Jared Musker, this is no ordinary whodunnit. Whistle Stop makes use of physical theatre to define and depict the layers of meaning that build between lovers.

Equal measures of lust and lasciviousness are served in Pop iCherry and Cult Clit. Kieron Jina queers up the programme with Pink Dollar, shredding every label ever given and Francois Knoetze pieces together other shreds to create magical puppets in Plastocracy.

If it’s reflection or relaxation or, perhaps, the stirring of a revolution you’re after, this year’s Fringe is where you’ll find it. There is an overarching sombre mood but exposing the truth is the first step in confronting it. In times of fear, it is artists are most often fearless. Their capacity for confrontation is required now, more than ever.

• Follow Tracey Saunders on Twitter: @heartoftheatre

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