A scene from Motlotlegi featuring Drama student, Mpho Malesa.
Loyalty, greed, vengeance and betrayal make for a sultry feast of tension in the original text. The adaptation, as a result of changing context, is chilling in its undertones and overtones and speaks back to the original work.
The adaptation discovers that it is still true that the evil that men do lives after them and the good is often interred with their bones. It also interrogates what the war between the fragmented forces would look like today, how the use of language would shift, mutate or break, and how much has really changed in the space between the death of Gaius Julius Caesar and the rise of Motlotlegi Kgosietsile Marumo?
The collaborative production applies a multilingual South African text adaptation by writer and Drama alumnus, Katlego Chale, and is designed and directed by Drama lecturer, Dr Karina Lemmer. It also features an original score by composer Franco Prinsloo and a set created by Anre Fourie, lecturer at the Department of Entertainment Technology.
Motlotlegi features a cast of senior students and includes various visual, vocal and physical elements that promises an impactful experience for all audiences.
Motlotlegi will be performed at the Rostrum Theatre from 20 to 25 May, with daily performances at 19:00 and an additional afternoon performance at 15:00 on 25 May. Tickets cost R50. Bookings at Steynfcm@tut.ac.za or 012 382 6130.