Giving a voice to child victims

Acceptance is based on the events around the well-known multiple filicides (the deliberate act of a parent killing his own child) by a South Africa-born mother of her three disabled children in England in April 2014.

The 60-minute drama aims to give a voice to child victims, whose voices are often buried with them.

Through staging this play, the writer hopes the audience will deliberate over rather than skirt around the issues of a tragedy such as this.

The fast-paced action, using straight dramatic technique married with physical theatrical elements and the use of visual projection, provides a platform to raise more awareness of filicide, the disabled, and the right to terminate life.

Acceptance hopes to shake the opinions that are often defined by the media, society's prejudices and the idea that some lives are of less worth than others.

The play is directed by Simona Mazza, an honours graduate from Rhodes University and co-directed by Eva Mazza who wrote the play. The cast includes Dinie Basson as Jemma (graduate of the University of Stellenbosch), Lyndon Stratford as Nic (graduate of the University of Stellenbosch), Natasha Williams (graduate of the University of Stellenbosch) and Ryan Napier (graduate of Rhodes University).

The set design is by Eva Mazza, with sound and lighting by Hano Smit and the stage manager and lighting designer is Anelle Gordon (a third-year Stellenbosch Drama student).

Killing disabled children

In the play a well-known judge, who accepted a mother's plea of manslaughter for killing her three disabled children, and who has been lauded for his fair judgement at the hearing, is woken up in the middle of the night by loud banging. He opens the door to a young man, in his early 20s, who urgently needs to speak to him. The judge tries to convince him to wait until morning - but the young man (Nic) forces his way into his home. The judge, feeling threatened, tries unsuccessfully to contact the police. At the same time there is more knocking at the door and Nic is joined by his two siblings: Jemma and Sam.

The judge is forced to confront issues that he has never been required to do as a judge. He is asked to forget about the evidence that was presented before him - and to listen, instead, to the emotional and human story of the victims, whose voices, like many others, were lost in the media frenzy that built up to the trial that became a hearing.

The judge, through this makeshift hearing, is made to judge himself and to open up to emotional arguments that, up until now, he has been required to discard.

There is an age restriction of 12 and parental supervision is advised for children from 12 to 16.

Ticket price (Thursday, 12 to Sunday, 15 November) is R150 and tickets can be purchased by accessing www.drostdyteater.co.za. Preview performance (Wednesday, 11 November, 8.15pm).

Regular ticket price: R150. Student discount: R75 for preview performance only. Drotsdy Teater is wheelchair compatible, but assistance is needed on entry: 1st Floor, 48 Alexander Rd, Stellenbosch. +27 (0)71 931 9954 or az.oc.retaetydtsord@ofni

For more live theatre, go to www.writingstudio.co.za