"A seed has been planted": A Conversation with Seth Sibanda and Fana Kekana

Seth Sibanda: Well, it was a wonderful experience for me. I didn’t expect it to go as well as it did, and with the new actors and new directors. I was pretty surprised by the changes, especially Salaelo’s character — a woman playing that, you know, it was quite interesting. And people responded well. My friends, I said “what did you think of that?” They said everything was well. So I was pleased, definitely.

Fana Kekana: My kids said exactly the same thing. It didn’t look that different. It came across. Of course, for me, I was being sensitive with the changes. You know, going way way back, when we had to make the adjustment from South Africa to America, and then California to New York, those were a lot of changes. And as inventors or writers, you’re very sensitive to changing it. You sort of want to stay guarded. But in retrospect, it’s a new thing. And we had to fit it into that, and that’s part of improvisation.

SS: I was worried, too, about the music, because in the original we had all our parts and we fitted. We had the bass, tenor, soprano… And so, suddenly we didn’t have a bass.

FK: The songs are actually part of the dialogue, they move the play. Just following the story, it’s really tough. And as an improvisational piece the reading, the non-action, is not its strength. The strength is in performance, where everything just comes together. Sometimes, even when you look at the focus, say, we’re focusing on criminals, not on politics right, that’s a tough part to read. Some people would have problems with stuff like that, you know, “if you’re going to be political stay completely political.” But for us it wouldn’t have worked. We would have gotten banned right away, so we had to go the other way. And I’m very glad that people were able to follow it, and it came across and resonated with them.

SS: Ya, I think those were the two main concerns. The music and the reading, as opposed to staging it, because it doesn’t read very well I thought. But I was pretty surprised when people responded well and said they understood. So that to me was a big relief, at least it came across well.

Joanna Ruth Evans: Do you feel that the way we did the songs, with Vuyo and the new actors, do you think they were similar to how you had them originally, or did it become its own thing?

SS: I think it became its own thing.

FK: Ya.

SS: It became its own thing: we were not going to replicate what we did before. My voice has changed, my voice alone, some notes that I used to be able to do then I can’t do. You have to adjust, so it was good that I was aware of my limitations, so when the new people came in we were able to blend in, to make the songs new. You know, for that present moment. As opposed to remembering, yes it was exactly like this in the 70s.

JRE: Had you sung them since? I know you did the run in 1990, but since then - you don’t sing them in your day-to-day life?

SS: Never.

(Laughter)

JRE: So you hadn’t sung them in 34 years!

FK: Even listening to them…

SS: No, never.

FK: Never!

JRE: So what have the conversations been like? Especially Fana, because you had so many of your kids and grandkids there — what did they learn or what did they see differently?

FK: The firstborn has seen most of the things that I’ve done, but the younger ones had no idea. And they said, “dad, wow, we didn’t know you did that, dad, you’re really talented.”

JRE: And your grandsons?

FK: Oh they were blown away too. Because come to think of it, we never talked about what I had done, it’s just everything is new. It’s a new life. And so when they saw it, for starters they were very impressed. Impressed by the piece, how it was put together and how it came across.

JRE: And the ones that haven’t been in South Africa, did they know much about your life in South Africa, and about the history?

FK: Here and there. The oldest grandchild is seventeen, and the next one is fourteen. My older daughter keeps preaching to them, “this and that happened.” Otherwise, it doesn’t resonate. Because to them, it must be like a nightmarish lifestyle. Because it’s so, so, so foreign. And for them, growing up here and trying to juxtapose things and take a look at what’s happening here and what was happening in South Africa during our younger days, it’s so out of this world. To their thinking, it’s not connected to real life.

JRE: Having done it now, do you think it should be put on again? What would you like to see happen for Survival?

FK: As a revival, ya.

SS: Ya definitely, if you can get the actors.

FK: Why?

JRE: I don’t have any plans, I’m just curious what you would like for the play!

FK: Because it is history.

SS: I would love to see it.

JRE: It was great to see, because I read it so many times but it’s so — good. I hadn’t realized how important the music would be, and so funny…

SS: Ya, it was kind of strange, because when I heard people laughing, I thought, “okay, this is what happens!” I was ready to continue on but people were laughing, so I thought, “okay.”

JRE: Which part did you enjoy performing the most?

SS: The whole thing.

JRE: Are there any last things you would like to reflect on?

FK: I can’t help but be very impressed and grateful that it was put on, and it was a success. It’s like passing the baton so that the younger generation has an idea. Actually, now a seed has been planted with my grandkids, so I’m going to have some classes with them to say, “You see, this is what was happening,” just to make things stick. And treasure what you have, it’s an improvement from when things were happening.

SS: Ya, I think it was wonderful to go to the script again, with a different perspective and to see things that you could have done differently. I mean, most actors do that anyway. What you did in the performance thirty years ago, you might change some nuances here and there. But it was wonderful to go through that experience; to be able to see what you can emphasize and de-emphasize, what you can underline. So it was a wonderful experience. And I’m happy I was part of the performance, definitely.

FK: Thank you, I can’t thank you guys enough.

JRE: Oh, that’s how I feel toward you! I mean I know you took a minute to decide whether or not to agree to it…

(Laughter)

SS: Ya, we were veeeery skeptical…

JRE: Really? You didn’t tell me you were skeptical!

SS: Well you know, finding two actors, and ya, we couldn’t compute it in our mind, what was going to happen. And it’s going to be a woman, it’s going to be a black American. So the whole thing was —

FK: How is this going to work?!

SS: Ya, so you know, but it worked, it did work, it was wonderful.

JRE: I’m so grateful that you took the chance and you put your skepticism on hold, because in the rehearsal you were so generous, you felt very generous about the changes, and the new people.

FK: Ya, we are modest guys.

(Laughter)

[Interview has been edited for length and clarity.]