Amajuba - Like Doves We Rise

Synopsis

Powerful, truthful, funny and painful, Amajuba is an intimate portrayal of growing up in South Africa. Created from the real life experiences of five young South Africans and interwoven with song, music and prayer, above all the work is a celebration of the extraordinary ability of the human spirit to rise above adversity.

Our Review:

7 April 2005

Having now caught Amajuba in its West End transfer, I’m left with equal amounts of admiration but rather less enthusiasm than my Oxford colleague (see below).

As an example of theatre as a means of individual and social expression, Amajuba is powerful stuff. Writer and director Yael Farber worked with the cast to develop what is, in essence, a series of interactive monologues recounting the actors’ childhoods as part of the ‘lost generation’ growing up at the end of the Apartheid era in South Africa.

Such an incredibly personal association with the material means that you never for a moment doubt the commitment of any of the five players, all clad in black t-shirts, jeans and trainers, sprinting through the performance as one well-oiled ensemble. Nor can you fail to be impressed by their superior stagecraft in conjuring up their dusty township worlds using just their bodies, voices (often beautifully lifted in song) and minimal p...

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Latest User Review

82.44.21.78) - 19 April 2005:

Quite overwhelming. The passion, and theatricality of five actors on an almost bare stage tellling their stories interwoven with tremendous singing makes for the most uplifting event in a long time. An affirmation of what it is to be human in dark times. Very sad to hear it is closing early...

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