Art - it's a family thing
Art enthusiast and journalist Gordon Joseph talks about his latest work where he directs a one-woman theatre production.
He studied drama, acted in a few plays and worked on numerous scripts. He describes his love for the arts as one he always had a secret love affair with. While studying drama, he took great interest in what they call Theatre for Development. “I love work that is confrontational, and that resonates with the most vulnerable and disenfranchised. I've always secretly referred to my work as revolt theatre,” he says. Joseph shares the inspiration behind his latest work with tjil.
Tjil (T): Where do you draw your motivation from?
Gordon Joseph (GJ): You know, I've noticed a trend while going through old scripts recently, much of my work, including this play which my mother co-wrote, revolves around the struggles that black women are born into, what society offers to black women and what society consistently takes from black women. I was raised by a single mother, and the woman who taught her how to mother me was a single mother too. And then there were my aunts and my grandma's sister who all showed such strength and resilience in the face of struggle and adversity. Much of my work is a reflection of that struggle, hardly ever any happy endings in the society that I live in, and they were hardly ever offered to the women I love and admire.
T: Why are there hardly any happy endings, does that mean you are drawn to tragedy?
GJ: No, I love happy endings; I just don't see them reflected in the lives of people who look like me enough, to think it's a norm, or to be expected. I think when we treat women and girls right, offer them equal opportunities and have real and meaningful respect for human dignity; they won't have to overcome. This play, Sins of the Mother, is a reflection of the realities of many of the women I've encountered, the daily victories, but for whom happy endings keep escaping.
T: Let's talk about the play, Sins of the Mother.
GJ: Well, it's a one-woman play and I have the joy and craziness of working with Ruby Joseph. Maybe not surprising, considering she co-wrote it, but there are a lot of narratives around femininity and much of that needed her voice. I think it's a people's play because we live in a society where we all reward toxic masculinity, and create reasons and maintain systems that requires women to overcome. It's a play for women who want to reclaim their autonomy in all spaces and a play for the men who are ready to acknowledge their privilege and for everyone who is willing to work towards created a better society. It's for everyone that wants to dedicate themselves to humanity, again.
T: What is it like working with your mother?
GJ: Obviously, I will only say great things about her. She has so much experience and this is my first play to direct since university. I think she struggles with exchanging her mother role for that of actor. Every day I threaten to fire her, and later she threatens to quit. It's crazy.
T: In terms of acting locally who are you most impressed with these days?
GT: Well I had the amazing opportunity to study with the amazing Inesh dos Ramos, who has been put her mark on the local theatre industry. I am also a huge fan of Hazel Hinda, she just gets lost in a character. They are both so particular about detail.
T: Any other details about the play you want to share?
GJ: The play will show at the Theatre School for two nights on 24 and 25 March. There are very limited seats; a ticket cost N$70. Tickets will be sold on the Events Today website and PayToday.
June Shimuoshili
Tjil (T): Where do you draw your motivation from?
Gordon Joseph (GJ): You know, I've noticed a trend while going through old scripts recently, much of my work, including this play which my mother co-wrote, revolves around the struggles that black women are born into, what society offers to black women and what society consistently takes from black women. I was raised by a single mother, and the woman who taught her how to mother me was a single mother too. And then there were my aunts and my grandma's sister who all showed such strength and resilience in the face of struggle and adversity. Much of my work is a reflection of that struggle, hardly ever any happy endings in the society that I live in, and they were hardly ever offered to the women I love and admire.
T: Why are there hardly any happy endings, does that mean you are drawn to tragedy?
GJ: No, I love happy endings; I just don't see them reflected in the lives of people who look like me enough, to think it's a norm, or to be expected. I think when we treat women and girls right, offer them equal opportunities and have real and meaningful respect for human dignity; they won't have to overcome. This play, Sins of the Mother, is a reflection of the realities of many of the women I've encountered, the daily victories, but for whom happy endings keep escaping.
T: Let's talk about the play, Sins of the Mother.
GJ: Well, it's a one-woman play and I have the joy and craziness of working with Ruby Joseph. Maybe not surprising, considering she co-wrote it, but there are a lot of narratives around femininity and much of that needed her voice. I think it's a people's play because we live in a society where we all reward toxic masculinity, and create reasons and maintain systems that requires women to overcome. It's a play for women who want to reclaim their autonomy in all spaces and a play for the men who are ready to acknowledge their privilege and for everyone who is willing to work towards created a better society. It's for everyone that wants to dedicate themselves to humanity, again.
T: What is it like working with your mother?
GJ: Obviously, I will only say great things about her. She has so much experience and this is my first play to direct since university. I think she struggles with exchanging her mother role for that of actor. Every day I threaten to fire her, and later she threatens to quit. It's crazy.
T: In terms of acting locally who are you most impressed with these days?
GT: Well I had the amazing opportunity to study with the amazing Inesh dos Ramos, who has been put her mark on the local theatre industry. I am also a huge fan of Hazel Hinda, she just gets lost in a character. They are both so particular about detail.
T: Any other details about the play you want to share?
GJ: The play will show at the Theatre School for two nights on 24 and 25 March. There are very limited seats; a ticket cost N$70. Tickets will be sold on the Events Today website and PayToday.
June Shimuoshili
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