Jane Taylor is the epitome of theatre performance meets academic theory. South Africa’s political, social and cultural transformation has inspired both her academic and artistic interests. Her play ‘Ubu and the Truth Commission’ in collaboration with William Kentridge, has gained phenomenal international recognition and is just one of many examples of her meticulous ability to bring the art of puppetry in conversation with the human subject. She has written extensively on the history of the human subject and the limits and intersection of its performativity.

For the third installment of the 2ndary REVISIONS series, Taylor explores how archives and history can be animated through the arts. She likens her own practice to that of frottage, a relentless scratching and agitating at the surface of the archive until meaning and, eventually, surprise occur. Taylor demonstrates this process with an example of her research on Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.

CREDITS:

PERFORMERS | Billy Langa, Tony Bonani Miyambo & Jemma Kahn
CINEMATOGRAPHER | Matt Griffiths