THE SULLIED - REVIEW

SHOW: Sullied
WHERE: The Market Theatre Laboratory
WHEN: December 10, 2022
DIRECTOR: Matjamela Motloung

How many of us? How many more of us? How many more of us have to die before something is done? How many more of us have to lose ourselves before justice becomes a reality? How many more screams, silences, exhaustion, reported cases, workshops, sermons, protests, hashtags, before enough becomes enough? How many more?

The show opens with the perpetrator proclaiming they "did not do it,' and that, "they are lying about me." This happens in the corridor of the Theatre, a typical behaviour we often see where perpetrators claim not to be guilty, especially if they are adored by the public. This scene ushers us into an intimate and moving performance that is deliberate in showing us how society enables abusers and cushions them from accountability and punishment.

The theatre in-the-round setting with the audience seated on the floor allowed for interaction with the performers. The use of contemporary dance to portray violence on the victim's body - especially - was a gentle take that was not too overwhelming to watch or invasive on the actors' bodies. And of course, the sign-language interpreter was a beacon of inclusion. When the characters started covering the audience's feet and legs with flags representing different political parties in the country, it was a reminder that our bodies are casualties in the political climate we find ourselves in. Our bodies always bear the brunt when those in power are bickering over controlling our lives.

The Bible, as used in the play, is like the law that continues to govern us while at the same time protecting the perpetrators and never the victims. Victims are left in conflict with their own minds and bodies. Womxn are never believed instead they are seen as cheap, dirty, loose, lacking integrity, asking for it, in the wrong places, and then spend their lifetimes trying to undo that. The use of the galvanised steel tub is a perfect representation of how womxn are continuously cleaning up what patriarchy has forced on them - from the image of ourselves that doesn't belong to us, to the acts of the perpetrators that we carry our whole lives. We are seen as unclean.

It is indeed easier to chant, "BURN THE BITCH" when the perpetrator could be punished. It is easier to 'lack evidence' when those handling cases of sexual assault feel uncomfortable and lack the required tools. It is easier to take a shower and go on to lead a nation when the victim is a womxn whose name people would rather forget. It is easier to call victims liars while standing on a pulpit preaching God's truth.

This play was a mirror, as theatre often is, of what society has become and we need more works like this in different sectors and on different platforms to continue examining the rot we are in, and hopefully ridding ourselves of it.