Exciting follow up to OYO's successful Hostel Monologues gets underway
Throughout 2006, OYO has been working on the development and performance of two monologues, written by a group of talented young Namibians, that focus on the difficulties of life in school hostels in Namibia. The majority of Namibian learners board at school hostels during term time, due to the scarcity of schools and the vast distances involved in reaching them.
The two original monologues have toured schools around the country, sparking interested, and often passionate debate amongst learners. They have also been shown at the NedBank Theatre School in Windhoek as part of the Bank Windhoek Arts Pre-festival, to critical acclaim. Recently, the monologues were adapted for the screen, and made into two short films.
Now, OYO is building on that success, and in July, work began on the development of two further monologues. These new pieces, featuring first-time actors Barnabas Ochurus and Bianca !Gomxa from Anker, a remote town in the Kunene region, address the difficulties faced by learners who find themselves in vulnerable situations, with no adult role models to turn to for support.
In 'Rumour Had It', Cynthia, whose father died of AIDS, and whose mother killed herself as a result, finds herself abandoned by her closest family, and is dispatched to deal with her grief alone at a school far from home. She finds it hard to make friends, but eventually meets 6pack, the school jock. The two fall in love, despite rumours that he is a player who regularly cheats on her. She feels that she has no-one else, and so when she hears rumours that he is HIV positive,what is she to do?
'Bread and Jam' features John, a young man sent against his will to the school hostel by his parents, who believe it will be character building. Consantly in trouble, despite his best efforts, he feels alone, and circumstances lead him to make friends with the hostel cleaner, Tannie Nomsa. When he feels vulnerable it is Tannie Nomsa to whom he turns, and so he does not know what to do when she begins to make sexual advances towards him. Confused, humiliated and with no-one he can tell, he deals with the situation in the only way he knows how.
Rehearsals are well underway, and the monologues will be launched as part of the Bank Windhoek Arts Festival, together with the two original pieces, on 21 and 22 September at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre in Windhoek. Tickets are $20, half of which will support OYO in developing future projects.
