THE STRANGER

SCRIPT, DESIGN + DIRECTION: BRETT BAILEY

WITH THE MUSIC OF NKOSENATHI KOELA (AKA MNTANA.WEXHWELE)

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'He brought us music,

taught us to sing,

and slowly we began to remember.'

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Invite Brett & Nkosenathi

to your city to make

a unique iteration

of THE STRANGER

 with local musicians

and performers.

A meditative, ritualistic performance work based on the myth of Orpheus. THE STRANGER is a continuation of Brett’s exploration of the intersections between ancient myth and contemporary realities; ritual and theatrical performance; dream and waking actuality; and the immigrant and shaman as traversers of frontiers. 

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THE STRANGER is set in a dystopian contemporary city: humdrum, grinding, materialistic and bigoted. A gifted musician arrives from across the national border; his music is transformational: it unifies people, shifts their priorities, brings the natural world into focus, and reveals an underlying harmony in the universe. Eventually, when his message is deemed threatening to the status quo, he is murdered by a xenophobic mob.

 

Several thematic threads intersect in this complex work, including the significance of myth, the sacred and memory within our lives; the power of the arts to transform consciousness and to imbue our lives with meaning; the apocalyptic threat to the biosphere in the ‘Anthropocene era’; and the value of immigrants within our societies within a context of the widespread emergence of ethnic intolerance globally. Visual design and live music are essential elements within the dramaturgy.

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The music of Nkosenathi Koela (aka Mntana.Wexhwele), who takes the role of Orpheus, is profound and mesmerising: 

‘…through multiple indigenous instruments … he manifests sonic dreams that vibrate through him by way of the ancient ones that guide. To hear his sound is to hear the ancients; stories of pain, loss, love and hope, to journey into the unimagined and reimagined.’ 

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We have two models for the making of this work:
-    we are creating the piece with a South African cast, premiering at the National Arts Festival in June: this work will be available for international touring thereafter. 
-    international presenters are invited to bring Brett and musician-composer Nkosenathi to their cities to make unique iterations rooted in the local context with local casts of musicians and performers.