Unyoko is a collaborative musical work written and directed by Bonginkosi Madondo that seeks to provide a narrative, performative commentary on patriarchal systems in contemporary society. It was first performed at The Centre for the Less Good Idea in June 2022 as part of The Centre’s For Once programme.

She is a central presence on stage: a character, a symbol, a spirit swathed in flowers and standing statuesque in a large, flowing dress. A refrain sounds out – “A thought and a wish, congealing and snowballing inside me into a masterpiece.” – while masked dancers beat out a cyclical rhythm on stage, circling the low, persistent flame of a candle. A figure emerges from beneath the dress. She is tentative at first, then self-assured. Eventually, she begins a conversation with the world through dance and performance.

In Unyoko, the combination of poetry, dance and live music creates “a utopian world where the female energy guides both the spiritual and physical worlds to rid it of violent divisions, separations, deep darkness, gender warfare, fortifications, class hierarchies and patrilineal dominance.”

Amidst the broader production and its grand narrative, isolated instances of musicality, measured duets, solo choreographic moments, and their work within the ensemble communicate the presence of the individual performers and the thematic intricacies embedded in the work.

Though offstage, live music plays a crucial role in both the narrative and the world-building of Unyoko. The sound of the wind, the low rumbling of the earth, the whispering in the leaves is all organically generated through live instrumentation. The performance is also a highly visual one, with many of its singular moments staged as striking and depictive portraits on stage. Naturally, costuming plays a central role in the work, too. It is altogether modular, decorative and functional. The lighting, subtle and evocative throughout, later gives way to graceful moments of shadow play.

Ultimately, Unyoko is a narrative that carries at its core the themes and notions of motherhood, birth, life, nurture and care, positioned alongside the heavy socio-political and patriarchal systems of the contemporary world, but ultimately seeing past these systems. It is “a long prayer” for a unified world, guided and informed by “the systems of the womb”.

– David Mann

CREDITS:

WRITER & DIRECTOR | Bonginkosi Madondo
MUSICAL DIRECTOR | Siphiwe Sip Nkabinde
CHOREOGRAPHER | Sabelo Sakhile Maphumulo
PERFORMERS | Dikeledi Modubu, Phindile Nkosi & Sabelo Sakhile Maphumulo
VOCALISTS | Mpendulo Sipho Mhlanga & Siphiwe Nkabinde
MUSICIANS | Volley Nchabeleng & Stompie Selibe
MUSIC COMPOSITION | The Cast & Ensemble