TAKE ME TO TOWN. Writer and Director: Thabiso T Rammala. Movement Directors: Ernest Ginger Baleni, Thabiso T Rammala, Sinenhlanhla Mgeyi. Musical Director: Sibusiso Mkhize. Actors: Moagi Kai, Nandi Zulu, Abongile Maurice Matyutyu. Zethu Dlomo-Mphahlele, Barileng Thato Malebye, Lunga Khuhlane. Musicians: Lufezo Bovungane, Mandisa Yende, Katleho Mollo. Stage Manager: Mthobisi Gasa. Producers: Pulane Mafatshe, Lindelwa Tshabalala, Shirely Mhlongo, Thabiso T Rammala. Theatre Arts.
MEGAN CHORITZ reviews
I didn’t see that coming. I didn’t imagine I would cry so hard on the way home I would have to wipe my nose and face on my sleeves while I drove. I cried because my heart and mind were exploding from the sheer brilliance, originality and relevance of Take Me to Town, a play being presented this week at the Theatre Arts in Observatory. I also cried from frustration because, as usual, it was a small audience, and this play needs to be seen by every single person in South Africa and beyond. This play is what theatre is all about. This play takes our mangled, maniacal world, reflects it back at us, and reminds us that we probably won’t win, but we have to keep on fighting, believing, loving. There is no other option.
Take Me to Town is a Joburg import, and I am so grateful I got to witness this immense story and these ideas, so sprawling and huge, yet squeezed into a coherent and utterly riveting piece of performance. It’s like reading a whole novel in just over an hour. Set in a dystopian (almost too close) future, coal miners live a tortured life underground, while the wealthy live and breathe above in an AI controlled environment called The Capital. It’s more complicated than that, but much too difficult to explain here.
Part love story, part revolutionary tale, part history, part pure satire, part dire warning, Take Me to Town is story-telling in its purest form, through word, body, music, emotion and collaboration. Each moment is deliberate and perfectly crafted, and the result is visionary, powerful, original but still also deeply familiar.
An unexpected explosion
With very few props, only simple things like a wheelbarrow, sling bags, coal and powder, the cast manufactures absolute magic, and the passion and commitment of the characters in the telling of the story is breath taking. Ritual, dance, singing, rhythm, and poetry all come together, in an unexpected explosion that had me spellbound and emotional throughout.
The script and direction by Thabiso T Ramalla are visionary. The choreography is unique; a blend of styles that becomes its own original body voice. The cast is extraordinary, with every single person bringing the most to each character and situation.
Take Me to Town changed me. I won’t be the same ever again. I don’t know how it is possible, but it is the story of our world right now, in this moment, and it is a warning, a call to action, and a desperate celebration of what it means to be human. I hope there are people reading this who will hear me when I say that this production must not be missed. It is on until Sunday.
A piece for our time, about our time, and about us.
What: Take Me to Town
Where and when: Theatre Arts from 19 to 22 June 2025
Tickets: Theatre Arts
WS
