COMING to the Midlands, fresh from a successful performance at the Musho!
International Festival of One and Two-Hander Theatre in Durban, is Tristan
Jacobs' Hambre Del Alma. Directed by Andrew Buckland, this solo mask performance
tells the story of the Durban-born, Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa.
Developed out of his Masters Contemporary performance research, Jacobs
explores the different heteronyms (words that sound the same but differ in
meaning —in English, for example, "two", "too" and "to") of the estranged poet.
These alter egos infest a bookshop, the space in-between letters and silent
words.
When Fernando attempts to write, he has to call upon his pretend selves to
complete the task. Hilarious in its wordlessness, creative and sad, Hambre del
Alma underlines the beauty of adults playing pretend. Jacobs graduated from
Rhodes University with an Honours in Drama in 2009, specialising in acting,
writing and contemporary performance.
He also won the Patrick Mynhardt prize for excellence in acting and toured
with the award winning production Die Bannelinge to the KKNK, Volksblad and
Aardklop festivals. As an actor, he has appeared on the TV soap Binnelanders and
was fortunate enough to work with Buckland on Richard Antrobus' Stilted.
Jacobs has been a part of the acclaimed physical theatre show Hats for two
years, and his collaborative work Les Pigeons won best original script at the
Musho! Festival in 2012. Hambre Del Alma can be seen at the Schlesinger Theatre
at Michaelhouse in Balgowan, at 6.30 pm on January 25. Tickets cost R60. To
book, e-mail Leigh Kotze at theatre@michaelhouse.org or phone 033 234 1314.
—
Arts Editor. arts@witness.co.za
Photo Supplied
Caption: Tristan Jacobs stars in 'Hambre Del Alma', which can be seen at the
Schlesinger Theatre at Michaelhouse on January 25.
Source: The Witness