POWER IN THE VOICE: HOW MUCH IS IT?, presented by the British Council, directed by Nomalanga Nkosi (fringe, poetry, St Andrew’s Hall, today at 4pm, tomorrow at 2.15pm, Saturday at 8.15pm):
Reviewed by Leon Muston, Arts Editor
TO say the opening of this poetry production is in-your-face would be an understatement. The two similarly clad performers in white takkies, brown shorts, white shirts and multi-coloured pullovers stand each in a spotlight, staring at the audience and suddenly start screaming: “What the f*** are you looking at.”
After a few moments of this, they get into a very aggressive poem each taking alternate lines about how they are not who you think they are and that you should not prejudge them or expect them to ever be there for you.
After a jazzy interlude in which Pebbles sings God Bless the Child and Kabomo delivers a poet about the melodies in his heart, we get to the two main dramatic scenes of this production.
Both start of with the phrase “how much is it?”
In the first, Kabomo plays a client visiting a prostitute (Pebbles). She tells him her prices, but ultimately he just wants to talk. The two end up in a slanging match, returning to the theme already raised earlier in the production of prejudging people and raising the new theme of whether all people ultimately have the same hopes and dreams.
During this scene, we also get the only genuine piece of rap, in a production which was labelled in the booking kit as a meeting of poetry and rap.
It comes as the client informs the prostitute about the breakdown in his marriage.
This sequence doesn’t really reach any conclusion, but then we’re into another scene, again starting with the words “how much is it?”
Again Kabomo is a customer, but this time the venue is a hairdressing salon. He’s a hotshot lawyer, often seen on TV defending celebrities, and he immediately looks down on the working class woman.
She rants on about him prejudging her, until he interrupts and points out she has done the same to him.
Other themes raised in the production include self-worth and belief, modern life vs tradition, family heritage and hypocrisy.
Audiences should note that the production carries an 18 age restriction, although to be honest, it’s less deserving of such a rating than some of the PG shows around the Fest.
Tags: 18 age restriction, God Bless the Child, hairdresser, hypocrisy, Pebbles, poetry, prostitute
