JOHANNESBURG - Pat Pillai’s production “My Cape Town” is not the type of entertainment that would appeal to screen addicts.
As a starting point, it’s a live production and a lot longer than the one-minute videos that have become so popular on social media.
The content is serious and intelligent, not the slapstick humour so many gorge on these days.
Pillai delves into an era that few now talk about and even fewer remember.
It is the 1950s, 60s and 70s – a time when black people (African, Coloured and Indian) lived together in areas like Sophiatown, Cato Manor and District Six, united by poverty and the fight against Apartheid.
They were kicked out of these places and forcibly moved to townships like KwaMashu, Wentworth and Chatsworth.
Pillai introduces us to one such community in Cape Town. These characters, and their trials and tribulations, are the story of so many other displaced communities across our country.
Pillai comes from one such a community. His parents lived in District Six, but he was born and grew up in Rylands, Athlone in Cape Town.
Pillai brings back to life in vivid detail the characters of this bygone era. They are our mothers and fathers, our grandparents – without them we would not be.
These men and women share a common trait – love. They love their parents. They love their children and they love their community. They came together, Christian, Hindu and Muslim, in times of joy and sorrow. There was a realisation that in the face of many hardships, all they had was each other.
It is a powerful reminder of how, just a few decades later, so much has changed.
These days, families seldom eat together. Neighbours don’t know each other, and communities hardly ever come together.
We have forsaken the “we” for the “I” yet question why corruption has become so entrenched.
In telling the story, Pillai is accompanied by a talented set of musicians in Melvin Peters, Mandla Matsha and Logan Bryne. They are masters of their craft dedicating to showcasing their music but never themselves.
Pat Pillai’s production “My Cape Town” is not the type of entertainment that would appeal to screen addicts.
It’s a pity because Pillai is the ultimate storyteller.
- Aakash Bramdeo is an editor at eNCA