MoLoRa: Revenge or Forgiveness?

Jabulile Tshabalala as Elektra

I recently saw MoLoRa (Ash, in SeSotho). I'm glad I did not miss it. 

Yael Farber's most recent work, Helen Saw writes, "reimagines the ancient Greek Oresteia to tell the story of her own country's painful and extraordinary transition to democracy. As Klytemnestra and Elektra--mother and daughter, perpetrator and victim--sit to face each other in an open hearing, MoLoRa reenacts a watershed moment in world history, illuminating the universal and excruciating choice for any victim: to seek revenge or choose forgiveness."

It was not lost on some critics, nor on me, that this story suggests we have the power to end cycles of revenge instead of repeating them in perpetuity as in Greek tragedies. More important, that is exactly what Nelson Mandela accomplished in South Africa. There's a sad commentary here that the US embraced only 'groupthink revenge' after 9/11.

One small observation: some audience members, despite the pre-show warning, seemed extremely annoyed about the smoke. I remember thinking, they can't stand a little smoke for five minutes? Do they understand how their discomfort pales in comparison to what black South Africans endured for lifetimes under the apartheid regime? And no, I don't think I'm being unsympathetic. 

Back in the summer of 2006, Yael Farber brought us Amajuba: Like Doves We Rise, another incredible theatre piece. I can barely wait to see what she brings us next.