Theatre Review: Romeo and Juliet

Abstract

As a young, black, female artist, Dada Masilo inhabits a position which affords her ample opportunity to refer to conventions of race and gender local to South Africa, even as she attempts to negotiate the difficult bond between the contemporary South African moment and its history of colonial and post-colonial relationship to Shakespeare's England. Her version of Romeo and Juliet is a fascinating example of the way in which creative artists map the border between the past and the present, and the difficult attempt to pay homage to inspirational precursors without sacrificing the integrity of their own creative vision.