Ghoema, the newest musical production by David Kramer and Taliep Petersen, is hailed in South Africa as the best creation of the duo so far. Playing in Cape Town's Baxter Theatre until 7 January 2006, the musical explores and celebrates the musical heritage of Cape Town and unfolds a lesser known chapter of the early history of the Cape.

Ghoema - named after a drum made from a wine vat with a skin stretched over one end, created and used by slaves - is about the history of Cape music and culture, starting with slavery. "With this production we remember, explore and celebrate what slaves, up to today, contribute to our society, culture and music," says Petersen.

"Slavery played an enormous role in the creation and evolution of Cape culture and its music," Kramer adds. "Slaves, imported by the Dutch from various countries, brought with them their cultures. Their cultures interacted with the culture of the European settlers. This resulted in the evolution of a specific type of culture and music - Ghoema music. That is what you get when different cultures are forced together and interact with each other in new surroundings."

"You can compare the birth of Ghoema music in the Cape with the creation of Blues in the United States," Petersen explains. "Or the samba in Latin America and Creole music in the Carribean. All these types of music have one thing in common: slavery."

The so-called Ghoema songs tell the stories of slaves in the Cape, about how they lived their lives. "Ghoema music is a very important source for this specific chapter of early Cape history," says Petersen. "Ghoema the musical aims to preserve this history and to collect the songs that are sung by Cape Malay people until this day. Take the Cape Carnival for instance!"

Ghoema is not the first time that Kramer and Petersen created a musical based on a part of Cape history; their first collaboration was a musical about District Six, a Cape Town community that in the 1960's was forcibly removed and relocated after the area was declared to be for whites only.

"I always wanted to tell the story about District Six," says Petersen, who grew up in District Six and lived in the Eastern Cape for a couple of years. "And I knew I wanted to do the project with David, whom I met 30 years ago during a concert at the University of Cape Town. When I moved back to Cape Town, I had a priority list. On top of that list I had ‘hooking up with David', to write and produce District Six."

Despite the tragic end of District Six, the musical - which made it to the West End in London - is far from being a depressing production. "The musical isn't merely about the tragedy that happened to the community of District Six. It is a portrait of the character of the place, of the people and how they lived their lives," Petersen says.

"And these people didn't live their lives in tragedy and despair," Kramer explains. "Humor, dance, music and love was a big element in the community, thus also a big element in the production."

The musical District Six soon became a hit, as everyone seemed to want to see the musical portrait of the once so vibrant community that had fallen victim to the racial policies of the erstwhile apartheid regime. "We were sold out every day. People were queuing from early in the morning in order to get their tickets. Tickets were even sold on the black market," Kramer recalls, adding that the musical even made it to London.  "District Six - the musical - was a phenomenon. We never, ever, thought it would be such a huge success." Petersen adds: "Of course we believed in the production. We believe in everything we do. But it was great to see that people believed in it as well. That feels good. It makes me realize that I have done something right."

Like District Six, Ghoema is a great success. "We were sold out during the first weeks; even our seats were gone! We had to stand to watch the show!" said Petersen. "It is great to see that the public believes in what we believe in so strongly."

What will happen to the musical Ghoema after 7 January 2006 is still a mystery. "Various parties are interested," says Kramer. "The musical might move to Johannesburg or to Pretoria. There are also possibilities that Ghoema might move to overseas' theatres. Who knows?"

(Source: Miriam Mannak / CapeTownMagazine.com)