Curl Up and Dye. More Than Just a Theatrical Experience

On Tuesday night we all got dressed for dinner and the Theater at Nelson Mandela Square in Standon. We were going to see the play Curl Up and Dye which was a famous play written in 1989. This play was a radical portrayal of some of the challenges facing communities during the apartheid years. It depicted the relationship between two white women, a coloured woman passing as white, and two black women in a hair salon. They spend more time discussing life and politics than taking care of hair and this mirror into the world of 1989 was eye opening and shocking. While watching they show I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The scenes were electrifying and thought provoking and inspiring. I was at times confused but the overwhelming power of the performance reminded me that emotion can tell the story that words cannot. As we discovered the challenges of accepting the gray area as acceptable, I never expected to be impacted in such memorable way.

At the end of the show we had a chance to talk with the playwright and the cast. At first the questions were simple and I was still getting over the fact that we were meeting the cast, it was so unexpected! I was lost in their words and passion. We learned that this show has taken on many roles and as it’s being performed again years after the end of Apartheid audiences are responding very differently to this drama. When once the crowd would erupt in laughter they now sit quietly. Nothing is sugar coated and the accounts are realistic so now when people watch they are stuck. Should I laugh? Is this actually embarrassing? Are they in fact right? Is our society today anymore just? It is really difficult to see the oppressive actions of your life displayed for an audience since many people do not know whether to be proud or be distant. The playwright said that many people who see this play are “diseased” they are suffering from complacency and more so are those who are not in attendance at all. Those are the people who often need to see this. The mirror that this show created shared that the gray area still exists and when we stand up proud and pronounce that racism doesn’t exist anymore what we are actually saying is that silently we are still judging people and discriminating based on race. Everyone is. The world is still paying for the price that cost us during the Civil Rights Movement and Apartheid years. We create a new gray area each day we don’t talk about the issues that our society still faces today; we prefer to distance ourselves because that’s easier. But is it really? I was once again reminded that we often learn the most when we do not expect to be educated at all!

The set for Curl Up and Dye

This conversation was such a raw experience and when so often we are caught up, fascinated or tongue tied not knowing what to ask or say watching this organic exchange felt like I was practically watching a whole other show. The actors and actresses shared with us their experiences growing up in Apartheid. From those who unknowingly perpetuated the struggle as young children unaware of the consequences of their actions to those who faced its trauma each day it was an unbelievable conversation to whiteness! The emotion was real and hearing their accounts was better than the show. This was learning in its best form! I was shocked that I was watching this because for once I felt like people spoke about the things that were tough. As intense as it was, difficult to hear, I was appreciative for their accounts and honesty. I didn’t need to know what to ask because having the freedom to talk about the past was motivation enough to get this cast really going. I couldn’t say how much time passed because I was so engrossed and impressed by this conversation. I learned so much! Experiencing this shed a new light on the passion and impact of theater and I believe the cast was just as influenced as we were.

These conversations need to happen! We must talk about the tough stuff and more importantly, we need to learn from those around us and acknowledge their stories as a part of our own whether or not we understand how just yet. And, for those who cannot speak for themselves their voices still need to be heard.  I must advocate for what I am learning and help to bring awareness back to the apartheid history. The repercussions are far from over and turning the other way now will only intensify the consequences that everyone still faces. I have decided that I can no longer give into complacency. I must not! After having these amazing experiences, it is my obligation to continue the conversation and strive to make a difference.