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Review
Amajuba (Like Doves We Rise)
Culture Project
August 1, 2006
Morgan Wycks
mwycks@nyconstage.org
Emblematic of the Culture Project's mission to present works of political impact, Amajuba (Like Doves We Rise) is a theatre piece developed by performers whose childhoods were devastated by apartheid. That their stories are harrowing, heartbreaking and ultimately life affirming by the performers' very presences on the stage is without question. Created and directed by Yael Farber, each individual's story has been theatricalized a la story theatre with simplicity and flair, but conversely has the effect of holding us at arm's length. Consequently, I felt very little. I would have preferred the actors to simply tell me the circumstances of their abilities to survive the atrocities perpetrated upon them as opposed to expending so much energy on the cleverness of the staging. Although unintentional, the style almost trivializes the stark, inhuman realities. It is also episodic in that we know five performers equals five stories and one begins to count as one goes along. The performers, all possessing special talents, are to be commended for bringing their lives to our attention, but next time straightforward may have more effect.
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