BINTI’S JOURNEY adapted by Marcia Johnson, directed by ahdri zhina mandiela (Theatre Direct). At Artscape Wychwood Barns (601 Christie). Runs to March 1, Wednesday and Thursday 4:30 pm, Saturday 4 and 7 pm, Sunday 1 and 4 pm. $15-$25, Saturday gala $50 (incl supper). 416-537-4191. See listing. Rating: NNNN
Binti’s Journey is the kind of production that encourages young audiences to crave theatre.
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Adapted by Marcia Johnson from Deborah Ellis‘s The Heaven Shop, it follows a year in the life of Binti, a young Malawi woman who loses her father, her immediate family and the one claim that makes her special, performing in a national radio show.
But in the process she discovers a grandmother – her Gogo – and also truths about herself and the world in which she lives.
The spectre of AIDS haunts the story, for the characters often deny its prominence and stigmatize those struck by it. When Binti’s coffin-building father dies of AIDS-related causes and her nuclear family is split up, she embarks on a physical and emotional journey that leads to her maturity in a world of both laughter and sorrow.
Johnson’s script proves she’s becoming one of our most skilled playwrights despite its serious themes, the play never preaches to us. If there’s a problem with the adaptation, it’s that too many events are squeezed into the hour-long show. A more leisurely handling of some episodes would give them more resonance.
Director ahdri zhina mandiela‘s warm production, tightened since last year’s premiere, hits all the right notes, making us believe and care about the characters. There are some fine theatrical touches, such as making Gogo a chorally voiced figure rather than an individual, and Welcome Ngozi’s music and movement also help lift the show out of the ordinary.
As Binti’s sibs, Lisa Codrington and Patrick Amponsah have the right combination of comedy and seriousness, while Dienye Waboso as Memory, a woman weathered beyond her years, also touches the heart.
From her big smile to the audience at the show’s start, Jajube Mandiela makes a winning Binti. From an initial naivete and a touch of smugness about her life, she moves believably through a series of trials until she achieves a sense of pride in a newly discovered family.
