Scene It: 'Ons Is Nie Almal So Nie', a family drama with an endearing narrator

Ons Is Nie Almal So Nie is fiction at the heart of a sad reality set in the 1950s Parrow. The characters you meet in this play may be somewhat stereotypical, but in that lies its truth... you know exactly who they are the moment you meet them in this drama with a touch of humour.

Mercy Kannemeyer's text (a translation of Jeanne Goosen's book titled Ons Is Nie Almal So Nie) is well constructed and perceptively eluminates the tone and topic of the narrative that unfolds in the 1950's when segregation and community displacement started. It is set in a time where family dynamics (not that different to current local and international realities) constantly changed depending on who had a more liberal or conservative take on life, and how much reliance someone placed on religion as justification or redemption for injustices and bad decisions.

Even though these are heavy issues, the play itself indirectly layers such considerations into the main story, which is a family drama informed by the existential crisis of a house wife seeking her place in her family and society while raising her little girl as best she can. Daneel van der Walt gives a beautiful performance that highlights the childlike innocence of her inquisitive main character Gertie. Rocco Pool's set design taps into the tone and (literal and figurative) perspective of the story with oversized furniture for Van der Walt to play on as she morphs into the adults who impact most on Gertie and how she sees the world.

Ons Is Nie Almal So Nie examines one woman's struggles with herself and her (as well as the country's) circumstances from her daughter's perspective with equal parts irony and empathy in this observational styled production. 

Make this family drama part of your Woordfees experience. Tickets are available through Computicket. Please note that this production has an age restriction of 14.