When we think of Sydney Fringe Festival, our minds tend towards the darkness. Eccentric, challenging and provocative theatre dominates the fringes of what is acceptable in the world of art and theatre, and this month-long event absolutely eats it up with an unapologetic, devilish grin.
But punch through the chaotic cracks of Sydney Fringe Festival’s diverse program, and you’ll see that the most interesting performances are full of light. It seems counter-intuitive to claim that an optimistic, wholly positive and uplifting performance as the highlight of Sydney Fringe Festival but such is the gut-punching power of the 3-time Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir.
The collective of gospel singers formed in the South-Western Townships (Soweto) that lie just outside of Johannesburg in South Africa. This is the same district that has given us famous leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with Soweto inseparable from the historic struggle against apartheid.
Much like the Whitney Plantation outside of New Orleans or the Civil Rights Museum in Atlanta, the shameful history of apartheid and slavery is also an inspiring story of strength, power and resilience. Watching this gospel choir celebrate life with both songs of freedom and protest, illustrated with hypnotic traditional dance and colourful costumes is not only joyful, its meditative and transformative.
With their new show, Hope, the affable Soweto Gospel Choir takes over Sydney’s only permanent Spiegeltent for an hour’s worth of South African freedom songs sung in six different dialects. The power of African American gospel and folk music to pierce the soul is not just a comforting thought shared amongst artsy idealists, it’s a reliable truism; a well-kept secret for viewers who may not directly connect to these songs, but can find great comfort in their messages of freedom, hope and strength.
The Soweto Gospel Choir perform a few more nights of Hope throughout this month. They will also be working with DJ Groove Terminator for the History of House, which switches out joyful freedom songs for a playful series of covers tracking the evolution of dance music.
Aussies have been enjoying performances from the Soweto Gospel Choir before. Just last year, the collective performed over 60 shows around the country. In many ways, it’s one of Sydney Fringe Festival’s most daring choices in years, taking a chance on unfettered positivity by booking a deeply spiritual experience to balance out the art event’s typically subversive, secular schtick. Judging from the standing ovation and sold-out crowd, the festival curator chose well.
Soweto Gospel Choir: Hope
Where: Speigeltent Festival Garden, Entertainment Quarter
When: September 3-25
Price: $69 per person
