The Plays Of Miracle & Wonder - Ipi Zombi? / iMumbo Jumbo / The Prophet (Paperback)

Drawing on the wealth of photographs, working notes, autobiography and reflection, this title re-creates something of the funky energy, haunting magic and colourful imagery of the plays themselves - plays that have disturbed and transported audiences in South Africa and abroad. The title is illustrated with images from the plays. In the accompanying essays, the author gives background and insight into each of the productions, and outlines his own artistic development and vision. Ancestors, spiritual snakes, the disembodied souls of bewitched boys these are the beings who speak to us in Brett Bailey's plays: spirits from the African netherworld, prophesying, exorcising, telling stories of our times. Taking as their starting points some uncomfortable episodes in South African history- witch-hunts in Kokstad, the saga of King Hintsa's skull, Nogqawuse and the cattle-killing - these plays touch on our shared neuroses and fears, blending the tragic and transcendent with the farcical.