Dipalo , livre ebook

Dipalo
Lalu Mokuku & Ginni Manning
Note: “Dipalo” is a Southern-Sotho word meaning “numbers” or “someone who is calculative or manipulative”. When used as an adjective, it means “complex or complicated”.
ASSITEJ SA
Playscript No. [02]
2020



First published in 2020
by

in association with
ASSITEJ SA
Vrygrond Community Development Trust Centre
4 Vrygrond Avenue, Vrygrond, Muizenberg East
7945

© Lalu Mokuku and Ginni Manning 2019
This book is copyrighted under the Berne Convention. In terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.
ISBN 978-0-9870373-1-2 (print format)
ISBN 978-0-9870373-2-9 (epub format)
Enquiries for performance rights should be addressed to:
ASSITEJ SA
Vrygrond Community Development Trust Centre
4 Vrygrond Avenue, Vrygrond, Muizenberg East
7945
Postnet Suite X22
Private Bag X7, Muizenberg, 7950
Email: director@assitej.org.za
+27 87 2227 983
Proofreading by David Stevenson
Cover photographs by Akhona Jolingana
Typesetting and design by G J du Toit


Preface
In South Africa, the scourge of gender-based violence, and violence against children and the vulnerable, has been at a crisis point for what feels like decades. As Dr Solomon Ayele Dersso and Aya Chebbi have said, “What is disturbing is not merely that women and young girls face violence and abuse in almost all seasons, in almost all spaces and from almost anyone — more disturbing is the tolerance that states, governments and other sectors of society show for such violence and abuse.” *
And so the statistics bombard us. The names of the new victims resonate powerfully for a few weeks and then fall silent. Everyone knows at least one person profoundly impacted by this scourge or carries their own scars openly or hidden. As a result, we can feel numbed from the assault of ongoing violence and abuse — but feeling numb, is dangerous… it leads to passivity and hopelessness. And this is especially so when we think about our young people. We need to wake up, to engage, to find positive ways to make a difference so that we can deal effectively with this social illness that impacts all of us. Empowering young people to think critically about the world around them, and to engage with it proactively, with a firm belief that they can make a difference, is crucial to our future. Plays like Dipalo are powerful vehicles for effecting this!
Dipalo is an important and timely theatre piece exploring the agency of young people in an exploitative world, and is highly relevant and engaging for teens today. This intriguing play deals with the pervasive threat of gender-based violence against the backdrop of charismatic religion. In a space that preaches safety and solace for lost souls, the dangers of the predatory and ruthless can be obscured from view. In finding one another, two young people are able to build a solidarity which strengthens them to deal with the challenges and lies that the adult world has fashioned.
ASSITEJ SA exists to empower children and young people to think critically and creatively through the moments of confrontation and connection that the arts alone can provide. We look forward to Dipalo being read, acted out and engaged with by many young people, and providing a pivotal moment of realisation of the strength that resides in each of us, if we have the courage to look for it.
Y VETTE H ARDIE
President of ASSITEJ International
Director of ASSITEJ South Africa


* Statement on 27 November 2019 for the 16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women and Children Campaign.


About ASSITEJ South Africa
ASSITEJ South Africa is a registered NPO (066-875), which operates as a networking platform for people working with or interested in theatre for children and young people. It aims to promote and foster high quality theatre for children and young people, to raise standards within the industry, to increase access and awareness, to develop and support artists working in the field, to be an advocate for the right of every child to arts education in schools, and to build relationships within the sector locally, nationally, across the continent and globally.
Members are present in all provinces and include actors, musicians, dancers, directors, choreographers, theatre educators, stage designers and dramatists, as well as theatre companies, organisations and institutions, critics and cultural journalists, cultural officers, amateur drama groups, organisers, societies and other networks.
ASSITEJ South Africa works to promote international awareness of South African theatre for children and young people, through supporting artists to make quality arts experiences, and through networking, organising exchanges, touring performances, and other programmes. Members are given access to a global network of information about festivals, performances, courses and seminars, with the potential to participate in these activities. ASSITEJ SA was the proud host of the 19th ASSITEJ World Congress and Performing Arts Festival, Cradle of Creativity, in 2017, and continues to host a Cradle of Creativity (an international performing arts festival for children and young people) every second year.
For more information, to become a member, or to support our work, go to www.assitej.org.za .


Thank You !
With huge gratitude for the financial and creative support of:
Yvette Hardie, Jaqueline Dommisse, Refiloe Lepere, Kim Peter Kovac, Kelsey Mesa, Nina Hajiyianni, Francesca Peschier, Kevin Dyer, Limpho Mokuku, David Stevenson, Nicky Rebelo, Saphena Aziz, Ed Barrett, Jessie May Longworth, John Maguire, Margaret Connell, Sam Walton, Sue Fowkes, Ilana Van Wyk, Sam Brady, Simon Vinnicombe, Motšelisi Motsieloa Silindane, NtaloKhanyisa Silindane, Ntebaleng Chobokoane, Rev. Stephanie Clarke, Boikokobetso Malefane, Nthatisi Bulane, Warona Seane, Lieketso Mohoto, Uvile Ximba, Hloni Phike, Axil Forder, Vnc Mnvr, Takalani Ralephata, Thokozani Ndaba, Paballo Masoabi, Mbuyiselo Botha, Clara Vaughn of the Market Theatre, Heike Gehring and Rhodes University Drama Department staff, Katlego Chale, Boitumelo Motsoatsoe, Robert and Sophie Morley, Sarah Argent, Jenn Cowley, Peter H Cowley, Rives Collins, Jenny Sawtelle Koppera, Simone Tani, Simone Lewis, Deborah Morgan, Paula Pritchard, Marike Beyers, Katt Lissard of the Winter Summer Institute, Gerry Linford, Trisha Duffy, Hayley Greggs, Oliver Back, Lucy-lou Fiori, Lyse Edwards, Tammy McNeill, Trudy Penkler, Marjorie Morgan, Sue Richardson, Emma Bird, Gerard Bester, Cathy Manne, Lipuo Moteetee, Warren Nebe of Drama For Life, Cathy Rawsthorne, Luke Rawsthorne, Tanya Surtees, Mari Lloyd, Titi Motsieloa, Qhawe Njoko, Nkululeko Njoko, Dylan McGarry, Kabelo Victor Kgantlape, Stella Young, James Harker, Gillian Atwood, Janet Watts, Ezelle Theurissen, Lucy Winner, Denise Kennedy, Mary Earnshaw, Richard G Walton, Laurie Malkoff, Marie Sachet, Ciarán Hodgers from Writing on the Wall, Emma Hulme, Danielle McLauren, Sam Donovan, Tammy Mendelson, Luvuyo Yanta, Emily Fields, Lyndrè Bonhomme, Kgothaso Rapoo, Nobathembu Ndzengu, Lebone Lehlokoe, Shoeshoe Malebo, Anton Krueger, Kayla Roux, Willy Mwakapenda, Edward Matabane, those who wish to remain anonymous, and all our family and friends.
Rea Leboha! Thank You!
Remember YOU are important.


Contents
Preface
About ASSITEJ South Africa
Thank You!
Introduction
Context
Biographical Notes: the Playwrights
Staging History
Staged Reading: Cradle of Creativity — Credits
DIPALO
Prologue
Scene one
Scene two
Scene three
Scene four
Scene five
Scene six
Scene seven
Scene eight
Scene nine
Scene ten
Scene eleven
Scene twelve
Scene thirteen
Scene fourteen
Scene fifteen
Scene sixteen
Scene seventeen
Scene eighteen
Scene nineteen
Food for thought


Introduction
Dipalo : Calculations of the spirit, love, and blood
I first watched a reading of Dipalo , at the Market Theatre Lab in 2017. The open reading was punctuated by young voices. Feedback from the cast and audience was robust and theatrical. The play clearly touched a nerve. It seemed to describe our shared spirit-filled experiences, without making them null-and-void. It centres equally on two aspects of love — love for both the scientific and the supernatural, and love as a phenomenon that young people everywhere are trying to figure out.
Dipalo is a Southern African Sesotho word meaning “numbers,” or “someone who is calculative or manipulative” or a situation that is “complex or complicated.” † In the play, we are introduced to Dipuo and Theko: their names an omen to the tête-à-tête (Dipuo means lots of talk) we will experience and the cost of it all (Theko means cost). It is a heartbreaking yet hopeful tale of the young characters and their interactions with the church, everyday life and what is the lifeblood of miracles. Written by Lalu Mokuku and Ginni Manning, it is a window for the audience into what must be a Pentecostal church memory. The plot unfolds around the main theme of love and what we do in its name and what we allow ourselves to endure and forgive because of it.
Young Dipuo finds herself in a new and foreign land of the church led by Pastor Sam, who has a dislike for women. Dipuo’s newfound love interest, and her aunt’s need to dismantle corruption and sexual abuse in the church, drive them into turbulent engagements with Sam. The pastor aims to rip apart the love interest and even take Di