After a successful run at AFDA Red Roof Theatre, the critically acclaimed two-hander Poet-O-Type written by prolific Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Theatre recipient (2020) Jefferson ‘J.Bobs’ Tshabalala is making a return to the Market Theatre stage.
The production features fellow Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Theatre recipient (2023) Billy Langa, who plays the role of ‘Guru’ with Trevor Lynch as ‘Grasshopper’. It is directed by Mahlatsi Mokgonyana, who forms part of the award-winning company Theatre Duo, together with longtime collaborator Billy Langa.
Trevor Lynch and Billy Langa in Poet-O-Type : Photo Credit - Phološo Phogole
Having been staged at the Market Theatre in 2014, and then again at the Soweto Theatre in 2015, Poet-O-Type is has continued to grow, develop and evolve in leaps and bounds as evidence by its continued relevance and uncharacteristic but not unsurprising ‘freshness’. The issues the production tackles are more than what is on the surface in that it interrogates power relationships, as well as what it means to be committed to a cause even when others do not necessarily feel beholden to those same lofty standards.
Poet-O-Type’s return to the stage with the eponymous Billy Langa in a role he has made his own having played it almost over a decade ago is something worthy of acknowledgement at a time when productions chop and change cast-members as if it is out of fashion. What we are treated to in watching Billy Langa’s performance is a rich, raw, deeply emotional and masterful lesson in the craft. Trevor Lynch is not overshadowed and holds his own against a formidable character and actor.
Trevor Lynch in Poet-O-Type : Photo Credit - Phološo Phogole
The enduring allure of Poet-O-Type is its engaging and relatable storyline, mischievous play on words and with words, and thought-provoking exploration of language and meaning among other things in a way which makes it a feast for students and appreciators of the English language.
Poet-O-Type is a must-see production in how it carefully explores and expertly unpacks a fraught yet warm relationship between a naïve protégé and a reluctant master.
Trevor Lynch in Poet-O-Type : Photo Credit - Phološo Phogole
The creative collaboration between these multiple award-winning thespians in the form of Jefferson ‘J.Bobs’ Tshabalala and the Theatre Duo is one made in theatre heaven and through it the audience is treated to a perfect concoction which makes for intoxicating theatre.
Poet-O-Type was written by Jefferson ‘J Bobs’ Tshabalala, directed by Mahlatsi Mokgonyana and features Billy Langa & Trevor Lynch with music by Kozo Zwane and movement coordination by Ernest "Ginger" Baleni. It runs from 11-28 July at The Market Theatre, Johannesburg
