‘So much living wasted’
“Waiting in fear and cowardice and queues and lines; waiting for things to improve and happiness to find me – waiting for the pain to go away and the old wounds to heal: waiting for someone who would come and make it all worthwhile.” Produced by the National Arts Festival and ‘69 Productions’ ‘Waiting’ is a new play written by Michael Wentworth about one young man’s journey towards self realization within a life of mediocre adversity. The production will premier at the 2008 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown and is directed by the luminary Itumeleng Motsikoe who has once again created a distinctive theatrical tour de force, with live musical accompaniment by the iconoclastic, multiinstrumentalist Hilton Schilder and starring Phillip Tindisa as Jimmy-James.

Concept
‘Waiting’ redefines the boundaries of contemporary South African theatre where one actor plays a total of nine different characters of both sexes and of various cultural and linguistic backgrounds that have impacted on the life and personal development of the protagonist, ‘Jimmy’ James Goeieboom. The visual and theatrical journey is juxtaposed by the soundscapes created by the inimitable multiinstrumentalist, Hilton Schilder who makes his much anticipated return to theatre with this production.

Synopsis
‘Waiting’ is a play that tells the story of what happens in the mind of ‘Jimmy’ James Goeieboom, a young man who is forced to confront the person he thought he was and the man he has become through both circumstance and choice, in the moments before he meets his mortal end. The story charts the journey of his mother’s desire to leave behind her rural upbringing and her arrival in the city where she meets his father with whom she falls in love, but they are from different sides of the racial spectrum and as a result he is killed in an act of ignorant malice: and so Jimmy’s life is marked by strife and loss before he is even born.
At a young age, he is removed from his mother and placed in a foster home from which he runs away and after spending time on the streets and being introduced to crime in order to survive, he finds some solace

in a Christian orphanage where he begins his schooling and is introduced to the Bible. However, this sanctuary is stripped from him when he defends himself against a bully and is sentenced to six years in prison for assault. After his release from prison and after various attempts, he finally finds his niche in the job market and settles down with a girlfriend who falls pregnant, but on the day that his son is born, his life is changed forever.

‘Waiting’ is a story about one young man’s journey toward self discovery and his confrontation with the
true meaning and value of his life.

Conclusion
‘Waiting’ will be performed at the Victoria Theatre on Thursday 26 June and Friday 27 June at 14:00 and 19:00 and on Saturday 28 June at 11:00 and 15:00. Bookings open on Monday 5 May
Written by Michael Wentworth
Directed by Itumeleng Motsikoe
Music by Hilton Schilder
Starring Phillip Tindisa
Lighting Designer – Peter Mokgosi
Set Design – Wilhelm Disbergen
Approximate running time, 1 hour and 20 minutes.

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