AnotherKind
of being
of seeing
of process
of joy
of dying
of living
of loving
of longing
This site shares selections from the process and archive of ‘AnotherKind’ - a creative lab in which a group of South African artists visualised and adapted a script originally intended as a live theatre production.
The scenes and fragments below explore the story of Silumko, a young man from the Eastern Cape who travels to Johannesburg after the death of his father ...
Created by
Amy Louise Wilson
Aphiwe Livi
Francois Knoetze
Joanna Evans
Gugulethu Duma
Duduetsang Lamola (blk banaana)
Iman Isaacs
Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi
Babalwa Makwetu
Aphiwe Livi
Francois Knoetze
Joanna Evans
Gugulethu Duma
Duduetsang Lamola (blk banaana)
Iman Isaacs
Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi
Babalwa Makwetu
Buhle Ngaba
Kathleen Stephens
Thembekile Komani
Phamela Manzi
Gomez Bakwene
Nicole Goto
Yusrah Bardien
Francis Burger
Zara Julius & KONJO
Kathleen Stephens
Thembekile Komani
Phamela Manzi
Gomez Bakwene
Nicole Goto
Yusrah Bardien
Francis Burger
Zara Julius & KONJO
Albert Road
Prologue: The Tuning
Keep trying.
PROLOGUE: THE TUNING
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The CHORUS is huddled around a small radio. They are tuning it, trying to reach a radio station. For a long few beats, they are met with only static.
CHORUS A: Keep trying.
[...]
CHORUS B holds the radio up high in the air. Nothing. Just static.
[...]
Suddenly, the radio tunes in to a song. The CHORUS freeze, listening. It is haunting.
CHORUS C: (whispering) Nobody move.
The CHORUS is a tableau of frozen statues. A long pause. Then, they take a deep breath and begin to speak as one.
CHORUS: Now, the story can begin. / Hear this: you proud, you wounded, you short of breath, you blinded by tears, you with a foot upon your back. / We do not wish to tell the story of an African tragedy* / Nor a tale of suffering / of sealed fate / of pain that ceases to ache. / yes, there are dark clouds to move through / there is wind and rain ahead / but do not look away, for – see, there / in the distance / a stitching together / a mending of things torn / and hope, uncoiling and blooming as aloes do. / Let the memories come now / Let them come flooding back
The lights fade to black. The music continues softly into the next scene.
![]()
The CHORUS is huddled around a small radio. They are tuning it, trying to reach a radio station. For a long few beats, they are met with only static.
CHORUS A: Keep trying.
[...]
CHORUS B holds the radio up high in the air. Nothing. Just static.
[...]
Suddenly, the radio tunes in to a song. The CHORUS freeze, listening. It is haunting.
CHORUS C: (whispering) Nobody move.
The CHORUS is a tableau of frozen statues. A long pause. Then, they take a deep breath and begin to speak as one.
CHORUS: Now, the story can begin. / Hear this: you proud, you wounded, you short of breath, you blinded by tears, you with a foot upon your back. / We do not wish to tell the story of an African tragedy* / Nor a tale of suffering / of sealed fate / of pain that ceases to ache. / yes, there are dark clouds to move through / there is wind and rain ahead / but do not look away, for – see, there / in the distance / a stitching together / a mending of things torn / and hope, uncoiling and blooming as aloes do. / Let the memories come now / Let them come flooding back
The lights fade to black. The music continues softly into the next scene.
Goodbye Alice (Part One)
Umqhubi akamisi!
Khawuleza fondini!
Khwela!
︎ AnotherKind Playlist, Track 7. Bongeziwe Mabandla, ‘Ndokulandela’, 2017. Mangaliso.
GOODBYE, ALICE (PART ONE)
Before dawn. It is dark. A candle is lit. SILUMKO kneels beside it, whispering. He might be praying.
MAMA (off): Silumko!
SILUMKO does not move but goes on whispering. Several beats.
MAMA (off): Silumko! Sebefikile! [They are here!]
SILUMKO, still unmoving, falls silent. For a few beats, it is just his breathing we hear. A car hoots.
MAMA (off): Silumko! They will leave without you.
He stays still. One more hoot. We hear the car engine roar as it peels off the dirt road. Silumko springs into action. Snatching up his bag, he races out and after the car.
SILUMKO: Bhabhayi, Mama! Bhabhayi, mntasekhaya! Ndiyakuthanda! [Goodbye, Mama! Goodbye, sisters! I love you!]
He runs after the bakkie, which is a few meters ahead of him.
SILUMKO: Hey! Hey man, subalekisa! Hey, yima! [slow down! Hey, wait!]
He is sprinting now. The CHORUS is up high, as if on the back of the bakkie. Four arms reach out to SILUMKO.
PASSENGERS: Umqhubi akamisi! Khawuleza fondini! Khwela! [Driver won’t stop! Come on, man! Jump!]
SILUMKO is breathing hard, running hard. He looks back at the house one more time, then leaps up into the air. The four arms catch him and haul him up onto the back of the bakkie. He sits back, spent, and watches his house recede into the distance.
[...]
Before dawn. It is dark. A candle is lit. SILUMKO kneels beside it, whispering. He might be praying.
MAMA (off): Silumko!
SILUMKO does not move but goes on whispering. Several beats.
MAMA (off): Silumko! Sebefikile! [They are here!]
SILUMKO, still unmoving, falls silent. For a few beats, it is just his breathing we hear. A car hoots.
MAMA (off): Silumko! They will leave without you.
He stays still. One more hoot. We hear the car engine roar as it peels off the dirt road. Silumko springs into action. Snatching up his bag, he races out and after the car.
SILUMKO: Bhabhayi, Mama! Bhabhayi, mntasekhaya! Ndiyakuthanda! [Goodbye, Mama! Goodbye, sisters! I love you!]
He runs after the bakkie, which is a few meters ahead of him.
SILUMKO: Hey! Hey man, subalekisa! Hey, yima! [slow down! Hey, wait!]
He is sprinting now. The CHORUS is up high, as if on the back of the bakkie. Four arms reach out to SILUMKO.
PASSENGERS: Umqhubi akamisi! Khawuleza fondini! Khwela! [Driver won’t stop! Come on, man! Jump!]
SILUMKO is breathing hard, running hard. He looks back at the house one more time, then leaps up into the air. The four arms catch him and haul him up onto the back of the bakkie. He sits back, spent, and watches his house recede into the distance.
[...]
︎ Amy Reflection, 'the story'
SCENE 2: PARK STATION
CHORUS A: Forward now, forward in time to the end of the story.
CHORUS B: The end? No, no, this is the beginning.
[...]
CHORUS: People arrive here with hope in their hearts that someone will be waiting for them / Some know exactly who will be there on the platform. But others think: who would ever wait for me? / This place seems hard, but there are a lot of gentle things happening here. / See there, in the corner, how sweetly those little girls share their packet of nik naks? / And look here at this gogo with her stick. She is meeting her grandchildren for the first time / Yes, it can be a very sad or a very joyful place, depending on whether you're coming or going. / If, like our young protagonist, you can't figure out whether you're doing the coming or the going, it can also be a place of mixed up feelings.
CHORUS A: (to Silu) Going home?
SILUMKO: Sort of.
[...]
CHORUS A: Forward now, forward in time to the end of the story.
CHORUS B: The end? No, no, this is the beginning.
[...]
CHORUS: People arrive here with hope in their hearts that someone will be waiting for them / Some know exactly who will be there on the platform. But others think: who would ever wait for me? / This place seems hard, but there are a lot of gentle things happening here. / See there, in the corner, how sweetly those little girls share their packet of nik naks? / And look here at this gogo with her stick. She is meeting her grandchildren for the first time / Yes, it can be a very sad or a very joyful place, depending on whether you're coming or going. / If, like our young protagonist, you can't figure out whether you're doing the coming or the going, it can also be a place of mixed up feelings.
CHORUS A: (to Silu) Going home?
SILUMKO: Sort of.
[...]
