The multi-award-winning cast and creative team are led by James Ngcobo who directs Mncedisi Shabangu and Francois Jacobs in this hit production which recently received five Naledi Theatre nominations, including Best Director, Lead Performance in a Play, Production, Lighting and Sound Design. Winners will be announced on 16 May.
Arts blogger Bruce Denhill describes it as, “profoundly moving and artistically stimulating … their standalone and collective performances here are potent and powerful. See it.” CityLife Arts was encouraging, saying “Blood Knot is a play worth seeing … stunning piece of theatre.”
Blood Knot, which tackles themes of brotherhood and hope, first premiered in 1961 and it is as relevant today (if not more so), 61 years later.
Set in the suburb of Korsten in Port Elizabeth - a place packed with people who are desperately trying to find an opportunity that will offer them some hope - the play delves into the bond of love between two brothers, the kind that transcends skin colour. They are forced to dream as they navigate the intricacies of being stuck in a place that offers them nothing but its squalor and the poverty that they are confronted with every single moment.
James Ngcobo is an award-winning actor and director and the artistic director at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg. Recently he won his fourth Safta award for Best Actor for his performance in the Netflix series, Queen Sono.
“In Blood Knot, Fugard unpacks this country in such a brave manner as he weaves together themes that are still so pertinent in our contemporary times,” explains Ngcobo. “He explores our baggage as a nation in a poetic manner that allows us to look at who we are, what we have gone through and tickles our curiosity about the collective aspirations that we have.”
He continues, “We have witnessed glimpses of hope popping up from the horizon and then jumped back into despair and hopelessness which raises a litany of questions ... do we still have the South African dream or is it a South African delusion?”
With several accolades under his belt, Mncedisi Shabangu has wowed audiences at The Baxter for his performances in Tshepang, Fishers of Hope, The Inconvenience of Wings and Marat Sade. This production of Blood Knot is a reunion between Shabangu and director Ngcobo, who collaborated on The Suitcase in 2006 and which won him a Naledi Award for best supporting actor.
Francois Jacobs is no stranger to Fugard’s work - having starred in People Are Living There at The Market Theatre in 2015 and where he later made his directorial debut in 2020 with Victor Gordon’s Brothers. The actor has appeared in numerous films and on television, including Binnelanders, 7de Laan and Madiba.
Mannie Manim is responsible for lighting design, Nadya Cohen for props and set, Noluthando Lobese for costumes and soundscape is by Dean Pitman.
Blood Knot runs at The Baxter Golden Arrow Studio from 11 to 28 May 2022 at 7.30pm nightly, with Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. There is an age restriction of 14 years.
Tickets can be purchased online or at Pick n Pay stores.
