Scene It: 'At Her Feet' speaks to the heart

At Her Feet, currently onstage at the Baxter Theatre, is a deeply moving play. With minimal scenery, but a strong sense of reality-representation, it introduces the audience to the views of four women (a secular student, a tough-talking auntie, a Che-worshipping slam poetess, a recently married religious travel agent) as they react to 9/11 and the honour killing of a Jordanian girl, in a powerful display of social issue theatre.

Sensitively written and directed by Nadia Davids and emotively performed by Quanita Adams, At Her Feet was first stage in 2002. A sequence of impressive monologues (further elevated through moments of song and slam poetry), its message remains relevant in 2018. The theatrical impact is focused on the point where sadness and humour converge —the point where it reveals the humanity of characters who all have a connection, a connection which becomes more obvious as the overlapping stories unfold.

At Her Feet highlights the different sides and perspectives of women within the same religion, but who all have different experiences and backgrounds. In balancing the heightened emotions at play, Adams shows great skill and restraint as she subtly draws the audience into the thoughts and realisations of every character.

The play is both powerful and memorable, moving you at unexpected moments, because of the fact that it does not pronounce a judgment. Without being in-your-face preachy —as issue theatre on occasion may tend to be— it merely presents a question (or rather situation) without propagating an answer (or drawing a definitive conclusion). Absent any such preconceived opinion-barrier, At Her Feet allows you as audience member the opportunity to bear witness to the experiences and feelings of every character —a process that appropriately leaves you feeling bereft at times. 

There’s a sincerity in the manner the lives of the characters are woven together, presenting their stories as a balanced narrative that transcends age, gender, culture and even theatrical preferences —it speaks to the heart.

You have until 8 December 2018 to see At Her Feet at the Baxter Theatre’s Golden Arrown Studio. Tickets can be booked online through Webtickets. Please note there is an age restriction of 12.