Well worth the Wait

Like Death, waiting is unavoidable. We wait in queues, in lines, we wait for our lives to change. Waiting is a play which seeks to examine the human condition that is this state of hope without striving. Waiting deals with the coming-of-age of ‘Jimmy’ James Goeieboom, a South African everyman who faces the weight of defining his last minutes before his mortal end.

Waiting is a story about a young man’s confrontation with his self-identity and the value and meaning of his life. Circumstances and choice have made Jimmy’s life a mire of adversity, with one step in the right direction followed by two steps back.

Ironically, waiting is a state which has affected its playwright, two-time International Poet of the Year nominee Michael Wentworth.

“Waiting is my first play and original work in two years,” he says.

Behind the play
Wentworth says that the inspiration for the play were workshops he did with prisoners – people who do more waiting than most. “Much of the play is based on real experiences,” he says, but points out that it could be set anywhere as it deals with universal issues.

Director Itumeleng Motsikoe, who scooped nine Vita award nominations for his directorial debut Coloured Museum in 1996, left behind the steady pay cheque of an administrative position in theatre to pursue his collaboration with Wentworth.

Motsikoe says they are relishing the prospect of messing with people’s heads, of messing with theatrical convention and, ideally, they hope the audience will come back for a second helping. “The emotional impact of your first viewing might just be too much,” Wentworth explains.

Multi-instrumentalist Hilton Schilder and sole actor Peter Mashigo – who recently played Timon in The Lion King to great acclaim – complete Waiting’s creative unit.
Mashigo plays nine different characters of both sexes and various
cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

The play is making its national debut on the Festival’s main circuit, a rare feat which Motsikoe and Wentworth attribute to the strong script which had them both in tears on the first run through.

The addition of a multi-instrumental soundtrack should complete a performance that is rich with contemplative and stimulating theatre.