Babylon: Beyond Borders

Never let it be thought that South Africa has the monopoly on poverty, racism, government incompetence and inadequate services.

We have all those for sure, but so does Brazil, the UK and the US, and pretty much everywhere in between. That’s brought home strongly in Babylon; Beyond Borders, an experimental play making a brief appearance at the Market Theatre.

It’s an unusual piece because it’s a collaboration between four theatres in different countries, with the performances happening simultaneously and live broadcasts from each city projected behind the local actors. Brave and inventive, but also prone to errors in timing and glitches in the sound transmission.

A series of mini-plays within the overall framework explore exile, migration, language, and fitting in with the new culture or being rejected. A theme of towers unites the tales to further emphasise the similarities.

In Johannesburg, the large cast of Market Theatre Laboratory students tells African stories and sometime acts out or translates the stories being told on the screen from the other countries.

Bilingual audiences will get much more out of these tales in English and Xhosa as they talk of Ponte Tower, focusing on the litter in the central core and some of the gruesome findings buried within. Another scene has an elderly rural couple trying to visit the UK for a wedding, with an immigration official barking out questions from the lengthy and discouraging visa application forms.

The cast from the Bush Theatre in London tells harrowing tales of Grenfell Tower, the block that burned killing 72 people in a multiracial suburb. There are near-tears from the storytellers as they speak of young children trying to survive the trauma, then scenes of humour as they mock Theresa May and the Brexit disaster and speculate on the likely fallout.

The New York contribution from the Harlem Stage has a songstress and a pianist recalling how the attack on the World Trade Center changed American attitudes forever. Then she mimics President Trump calling immigrants animals, not humans.

São Paulo has an ill-fated tower too, and Pequeno Ato theatre tells us of the inefficient or complacent fire brigade that let burn because it was full of ‘gangster immigrants.’ So many similarities around the world.

There are moments of humour and many more of sorrow or contemplation, and the Joburg students are talented in acting, singing and dancing. But there are several glitches. The videos didn’t always kick in on time, or the sound was too quiet or too loud, making the translations by our local crew inaudible. It started 20 minutes late too, and times zone differences mean it only begins here at 9pm. You can wander around the theatre first to watch mini-dramas being staged on the staircases and balconies. A woman mopping a floor, a couple passing suitcases between them. It makes the evening more interactive, but if we’re going to spend an hour waiting for the main event, at least open a bar so we can have a drink.

As a piece of theatre it needs a lot of rough edges smoothing. But as a stark reminder that no matter where we live we’re all in this mess together, it works a treat.

Babylon: Beyond Borders will play at the Market Theatre’s Ramolao Makhene Theatre until Thursday February 16. Tickets from  Webtickets.  Photos: Iris Dawn Parker.