Gisele S, Peter and myself lived in the same block of flats and were thus able to meet almost every day to discuss ideas, theories, films (the apartheid regime had a very odd way of cutting and/or banning films), books, politics, sexuality, philosophy. And of course we would rehearse together as a group more intensively as performance dates approached.

DARK CORNERS OF A NEW MIND (1986)

We became involved in a mutual learning process whereby specific skills were imparted where necessary e.g. Gisele Turner, who was a speech and drama teacher and who had performed professionally on the Durban stage, would give us voice exercises. Gisele Stafford who had had formal ballet training, would assist in the execution of certain dance exercises.

Although not initially intended, I found myself responsible for the direction, construction of masks and costumes, design, writing of material and 'coherence' within the group.

Classes were divided into THREE sections:

1. STAMINA, FITNESS, SUPPLENESS. I adapted exercises I had learnt from various dance classes (including that of LINDSAY KEMP) into focused form of harnessing and conserving energy - as with

2. BALANCE AND CONTROL.

However it was with

3. PROJECTION, PSYCHIC EXERCISES, INTENT AND VISUALISATION that I feel the most progress was made and which began to mark us out as something quite unique within the South African performance world.

We drew up a manifesto to which, amongst other things, we committed ourselves to performing only ORIGINAL WORK.. From these endeavours emerged the 'BODA STYLE" of performance.

BODA was primarily concerned with pushing he current theatrical boundaries and exploring the possibilities that thereby emerged. This included exploring ALL theatrical media viz: use of voice (guttural noises/sounds instead of speech), movement, dance, lighting (usually on the floor casting shadows into the audience and across the stage which became an integral part of the performance) and improvisation.

During the 'BODA PERIOD' and further, there existed a particularly dark/stark struggle for artistic integrity and political clarity. Politically/culturally there was a lack of information and much disinformation. We felt it was useless to see ourselves as an isolated entity embroiled within the specific confines of an abhorrent system. Our work in itself isolated us. We were subject to political scrutiny as members of the END CONSCRIPTION CAMPAIGN. And, as a dissident WHITE person, there was very little by way infrastructure that offered any kind of support that was not free of suspicion.

To BROADEN THE MIND was, and always will be, the greatest threat to an oppressive regime.

In retrospect, it appeared that BODA had became a 'hands on' research project. There were no fast solutions or easy results. Yet everything we did, however seemingly fruitless, created impetus to explore further, becoming a process which assisted us in coming to terms with our inner selves. Working within the group meant that we had to make certain compromises, allowing each person to develop to their full potential.

HOWEVER, our focus was on THEATRE, on PERFORMANCE, and NOT on personal growth. Personal growth was something that happened as a by product in the same way that OXYGEN was a by product of photosynthesis.

WE were exploring areas of theatre where no specific information could be found - e.g. the psyche and psychic exercises: ways to enhance performance BEYOND current mind sets. My own intuition played a vital role in this field. Thus we explored feelings, breath, dimensions, psychology, the occult, space, contrast, philosophy. ARTEAU, BRECHT, THE BAUHAUS, GROTOWSKI, COCTEAU, STANISLAVSKY were amongst our many influences.

It was thus that our explorations were able to be taken as far as we wanted them to go, yet never losing sight of the fact that we had to maintain contact with the audience, within a rational framework. Collectively, this resulted in developing a 'kernel of observation' which we were not only able to apply to ourselves, but also to our society as a whole.

The PSYCHE became, for us, the ESSENCE of theatre.

We worked from the basis of the fact that we were AFRICAN. There were forces, elements, UNIQUE to this country that supplanted and enhanced our 'European' consciousness without us having to deny either. The concept of TRANSFORMATION had become quite central to our work. The concept of TRANSFORMATION has become ESSENTIAL to processes in the "New South Africa". In ESSENCE, theatre has much to do with TRANSFORMATION.

I became more and more interested in the 'cross flow' between inner and outer worlds, and how this related to theatre. This was reflected in the plays that I wrote for the group, the classes that I conducted, and the paintings that I painted.

Thus we attempted to work on concepts UNIVERSAL in nature, yet stemming from our own experiences. The experience of our TIME, our PLACE, and of being CONTEMPORARY.

DIFFICULTIES

One of the main difficulties that we encountered was in trying to bridge the gap between the work that we were doing and reaching an aware public. We performed locally in places such as night clubs, hotels, streets, and other make-shift stages. We performed in Grahamstown over 3 consecutive years. The cultural PACE in Durban was slow, conservative and confined. Basically this meant that there was NO CULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE that had any value or meaning. The University of Durban drama department alarmingly banned their students from seeing our work or even mentioning our name. Drama students at the Technikon shunned us. In a healthy society this would have caused immediate cultural panic. Not so Durban! Investigative journalism, and not only of a political nature, became non-existent. The press showed no interest in our theatrical WORK, and it was only after an unfortunate confrontation with the Daily News that we were given due coverage and attention to our performances. We realised pretty quickly though, that in requiring press attention, particularly in terms of critical feedback, was an utter waste of time. So, after our first performance endeavour as a coherent group (I HAVE NO!) we abandoned all interest in actually performing in Durban itself in any formalised manner. Interviews that were given in Grahamstown were never published.

DURAN THEATRICAL SCENARIO IN THE '80'S

I maintain that one of the reasons why mainstream theatre in Durban was so apathetic was because of the socio/personal ties that existed 'behind the scenes' and that the close-mindedness of this clique was detrimental to the import and vibrancy of theatre in Durban. This realisation had come about due to the theatrical tensions we had created as a competent non-mainstream performance group and was vindicated many years later (1993) with the necessity for the complete overhaul of the Natal Performing Arts Council (NAPAC).

WHAT HAD MADE CULTURAL OBSERVATION IN DURBAN SO FASCINATING AS AN ARTIST DURING THOSE DARK APARTHEID YEARS WAS THAT IN DURBAN, IT WAS SMALL, CONCENTRATED AND STARK. THERE WERE NO GREY AREAS. THIS CONTRAST MADE IT CLEARLY VISIBLE FOR ANYBODY WANTING TO SEE.

I found that I had begun to lose faith in the METTLE of the South African psyche in terms of WHITE culture. The collective creative spirit of BODA seemed to generate suspicion and/or envy. We could not blinker ourselves to the fact that we were living in a CULTURAL VOID of ALARMING PROPORTIONS.

DISBANDING

BODA disbanded in May 1987. Three-and-a-half years of intensive work as a group came to a halt. For me, the work continued in my solo career, performing at Dance Umbrella in Johannesburg, and in two solo plays: "BLOOD" and "THE COME-UPPANCE OF PUNCH"

It would be grossly unfair to the integrity and intent of trust within the group to isolate internal reasons for out disbanding. Pressures from outside were difficult enough, and we had just entered the darkest phase of apartheid. Many of our friends were constantly leaving the country, and when David Mulvey, one of the founder members of the group decided to emigrate, I felt this was a good enough time to seek closure. Our final performance was held at the hall of the Ecumenical Centre in St. Andrews Street with performances entitled THROUGH A LENS.