Publications
Partners
Years ago, every life form on earth sprang from a single organism. Scientists call it our last universal common ancestor, or LUCA.
Since then, mammals have evolved and adapted, with one branch of primates arguably becoming the most evolved of them all – the Homo sapiens.
Human beings all come from one birth place – Africa. Some of us stayed here, while others travelled north. Those who went to Europe adapted to the colder climate – lighter skin, straighter hair and longer noses.
Those who stayed here have darker skin, broader noses and curlier hair. But, despite these small differences, white and black people are still genetically 99.9% alike. To think that so much war, oppression, inequality and discrimination has sprung from that 0.1% difference.
Today it feels like we’re almost more racially divided than ever, and corporate seminars on diversity and transformation usually have employees rolling their eyes. Do they really help?
We can talk about highfalutin ideals and how things ought to be but, at the end of the day, our reality as black, white, man, woman, straight or queer is not something we can escape. And for some it’s a weight they carry every minute of every day.
The Palaeontological Scientific Trust, known as PAST, is hoping to spread a more impactful message, using the science we have about our shared ancestry. They’ve created a new corporate theatre show as part of their award-winning Walking Tall Educational Theatre Project.
Called I See You, it addresses what they see as two of humankind’s most pressing issues: racial discrimination and the massive destruction of the environment.
The 20-minute production features two male dancers who use physical theatre to powerfully convey PAST’s primary message: We all come from one family, so why do we fight each other and the Earth?
The show debuted last Thursday at the Woman’s Jail in Constitution Hill, Braamfontein.
The production is written by PAST and Matthew Lotter, who co-directs with S’bo Ntshebe. The performers are Sandile Matsheni and Jonathan Blaine.
. Walking Tall is available for corporate bookings by contacting andrea@pastafrica.co.za. Visit past.org.za for more information
 |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
