The 2021 Standard Bank Young Artist winner Kristi-Leigh Gresse is back with her compelling dance theatre production titled “Sullied”.
The multi-award-winning dance work explores the notion of purity and impurity of a female body.
Conceptualised and choreographed by Gresse, “Sullied” is directed by Matjamela Motloung and stars Sandile Mkhize Fezeka Shandu and Nolwazi Ngcobo.
Using the combined power of dance and spoken word, “Sullied” interrogates themes of religion, body politics, racism, gender, sexuality, rape culture and toxic masculinity.
The gripping narrative challenges the “hypocrisy of a world where abuse, suffering and pain is accepted, normalised and tolerated” in society.
“The production interrogates the effects that patriarchal ideologies and misogyny has on the human psyche.
“Specifically, the way these ideologies affect how we as human beings interact with one another,” explains Motloung.
According to Motloung, the production was inspired by the painful story of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, the woman who accused former president Jacob Zuma of rape in 2005.
Kuzwayo was given the name Khwezi during her rape trial to protect her identity.
“The piece was inspired by the much-publicised story around the treatment and intimidation that Khwezi suffered following the rape trial she endured,” says Motloung.
“We sat back and wondered what an artist’s response would be to the said reports, the ”khanga“ was touted as what she wore that fateful night and was touted as the enticement for the rape.
“We wanted to focus on its relationship with the situation and write a letter to it about what could have been said.”
Gresse’s works often centre around gender and body politics.
She’s been exploring themes of identity and how these “notions affect our bodies, how we carry ourselves through everyday life and how we interact” with one another.
“I believe it is important to explore topics centred around the human experience with a close focus on gender issues.
“A few of the concepts I tackle in my productions are how institutionalisation, community, social conformity, religion and politics affect our lived experience,” adds Gresse.
“Sullied” focuses closely on the idea of cleansing. It confronts the idea of washing away “dirt” but not tangible dirt, rather washing away the dirt trapped away in our subconscious brought on by fear, emotional and psychological trauma, as well as “engrained” social norms around women’s identity.
“We are looking to create a platform for a peer conversation between gender born male and females regardless of what they identify with to work on finding ways to deal with societal trauma that keep multiplying in our society.
“We had to make the play uncomfortable for ourselves to honestly ask the hard questions not only with the Khwezi’s situation, but how women and children continue to suffer from both gender and relationship violence - artistically this demanded a certain level of intensity, hence the discomfort in performance,” shares Motloung.
Sullied won a Standard Bank Ovation Gold Award at the National Arts Festival in 2018 and went on to win the South East Dance Award at the Brighton Fringe Festival, UK, in 2019, before being commissioned to produce a dance screen offering for the digital JOMBA! Festival in 2020.
The show kicks off its national tour on Friday, February 18, at the Actors Spaces, Braamfontein.
The show will also be staged tomorrow (on Saturday, February 19) before moving to the Theatre Arts, Cape Town from March 8 -10.
Tickets are available at Quicket for R100.