Every now and then, some form of art makes its way into my life and moves me beyond expression. Sometimes it’s literature, sometimes film. Maybe dance, or maybe song. But this weekend, this little piece of heaven came in the form of Ubuntu, a play (unfortunately) wrapping up its run at the Tarragon Theatre.
It is a play that demonstrates so poignantly the very meaning of its title. Translated as “I am because you are”, Ubuntu is the traditional African philosophy that recognizes the unity of all people, as we are all inextricably bound to and by our common humanity. Spanning two generations and taking place in both Canada and South Africa, the play tells a beautiful story of the love between two people and the deep secrets that plague their family.
The first half of the play is filled with such wonderful dance and song that will just absolutely fill your heart with joy, but as the play progresses, it plunges into deeper and darker territory. One of the most memorable scenes takes place in a library here at the U of T (a setting not totally foreign to us…as much as we’d like it to be) that turns the banal and perhaps even dreary act of finding books into a playful dance. Meanwhile, there is a beautiful, but darker sequence where the two lovers, tired and undoubtedly pained, fight over what may seem to be an unimportant chair, but one that keeps them so far apart. The cast exquisitely uses movement to fill the gaps when words are simply not enough. (more…)
Date: Friday 30th – Saturday 31st
