THINK OF A hand bunched into an unequivocal fist. Think of the act of throwing something, not only with that fist, but with the whole arm, the whole back, the whole body. Transcendent: Echoes of the Past staged earlier this month at the State Theatre in Pretoria invokes that gesture, iconic for the idea of protest, again and again.
Throwing objects has been a vital part of human survival and evolution, forever. Spears were thrown by hunter-gatherers. Molotov cocktails, by more contemporary folk out to make a similar point. Fists, too, have been raised in resistance throughout history. Forever. It is a gesture of visceral response to anger.
The fist and the incandescent gesture of the arm that throws became iconic images of struggle, a potent distillation of the very essence of human nature. Closer to home, in anti-apartheid tropes. They are pivotal in the choreography of Zaza Cala’s work Transcendent, a potent call for South Africa to once again rise above the struggle against itself.
The work features a combination of dance, song, live music, acting, multi-media, smoke machines and lighting. The stage is jam-packed with a rugged picket fence, platforms, and beautiful energy. Forceful choreography is heightened by the performers’ masterful juggling of a quiver of mediums. The result: an accessible and imaginative narrative, peopled with such a multifaceted understanding of space, it is difficult to keep count of bodies and what they are doing.
There is a moment in this show when it feels like the work fixates solely on the past, rotten as it has become with clichés and platitudes. But the rhetorical question of freshness is answered with wisdom: You need to honour what has been done and then transcend it. And the production team delivers on its promise. Once they throw you back to the present, the impact is so charged that it ripples the future. It’s a magical achievement, made possible through simplicity.
Movement doesn’t need a thesis statement. The imagery Transcendent shapes is unmistakeable, evocative and simple. It need not be anything more. Movement cannot lie. A single move can make you as powerful as it can make you vulnerable. And the performers beautifully hold this tension between power and vulnerability. They communicate it across every level of the performance. From the fist to the throw, to the deeper themes, forms and contents. Their bodies push the limits for the sake of this truth.
The work features several languages but it does not matter if you are not conversant in any of them.
Even in the role of a corpse on stage, the performers cannot stop their beating chests on the ground. And that is exactly it. The beautifully tied-in undeniable truth: “We might be tired, beaten, even dead! But we are still breathing.”
The use of repetition, stage smoke and the embodied recreation of iconic resistance images in this piece brings the idea of historical struggle back to life. And after the snap back to the present, the repetition of these images in the contemporary serves as a reminder that the struggle is not over. A reminder that promises have remained unfulfilled and that we have not yet entered a free South Africa for all. And that today, oppressive forces are no longer only white, but institutional.
Transcendent: Echoes of the Past kicks up the dust knowing we might be blinded by smoke. But it manages to shape that smoke, like a storyteller over a fire, sharing images of the past. The fist and throw are here to encourage us, to remind us of the powers they hold, leaving us with the hope that we will transcend our need for them. And of the delicate tension between our movements towards a future.
- Transcendent: Echoes of the Past is directed and written by Zaza Cala assisted by Thembi Ngwenya. Featuring creative input by Zaza Cala and Cebile Dhlamini (choreography), Thandeka Zwane (composer); and Sandile Mahlangu (lighting), it is stage managed by Thandolwethu Nhlapo and performed by Kgothatso Chepape, Siyabonga Gazu, Nakhane Gubangxa, Tshepiso Hlongwane, Nomfundo Joyisa, Obakeng Ledwaba, Thato Mafoko, Les Mahlangu, Anold Freedom Mahobatlou, Lesedi Maile, Natasha Maja, Midori Mbiza, Christopher Mbonani, Thebe Mmusi, Aphelele Mnyebe, Tshireletso Tina Mogotsi, Lesego Montsho, Peter Mothiba, Lungisani Mtshali, Thembi Ngwenya, Yolanda Pani, Mila Polo, Simbone Qonya, William Segalwe, Sphesihle Simelane, Thando Skhosana, Mbali Yokwana, Sibahle Zongezile and Thandeka Zwane. It performed at the Sibusiso Khwinana Theatre, at the South African State Theatre complex during March 2026.
- Willem Pieter F. Botha is currently an Honours-level student in the Department of Drama at Pretoria University.