Beauty of adults playing pretend

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