Never have I been moved by a theatre piece like this before.

Frank, emotive, musical, expressive and powerful.

These are some of the words that can best be used to describe the Poetry and Current Affairs show that was held on the 25th February 2018 at the Soweto Theatre. This show, a first of its kind for a theatre production in the country, was hosted by popular spoken word artist Noluthando Buthelezi. Now, I am sure you have heard of this name before. She was one of the women profiled as part of my women’s month appreciation series. Back to the event, which was presented to the attendees by Rainbow FM radio personality Joao-Pedro Rosarion De Jesus.

Words are a powerful means for communication. News and current affairs plays an important role in society due to the fact that there is information and education delivered to the public through the platform. Whether it would be special announcements to be made by the state’s president on his cabinet, messages of condolences towards a national disaster or calls to use water sparingly in order to avoid or postpone the looming day zero, the media and in particular, journalism plays a critical and fundamental role as a vehicle for the communication of this information to the public. The public has the right to information as enshrined in our constitution, it therefore empowers journalists and various news institutions, as accurately as can be, to convey information to the public for dissection. Journalism is an essential source of news to society, it can be a change agent where service delivery and allegations of corruption in some state departments or NGOs are concerned. Or it can be a brutal source to propaganda. It can be used to paint the reality of people’s daily struggles, on-going obstacles and progressive triumphs. Although an important platform to society, there are some who feel unattached to current affairs and news for various reasons including the lack of ability to capture, sparking interest and relate the news content to the target audience.

Poetry is a form of creative art, which uses a careful arrangement of words to showcase a thought, belief and idea. This unique form of art is a smart method of transferring a message to the audience, the key word here being audience because if one does not have the ear for what the poet’s intentions are, they may run the risk of losing the message. Poetry is emotive, personal and reflective. It’s style is completely dependent on the personality of the poet and its message, entirely dependent on what the poet wants to convey. There are some similarities and differences between poetry and current affairs; both are art forms that are fully dependent on words, engagement, reflection and message conveyance to the target audience. Both are driven by the desire to capture the interest and attempt to relate to the target audience. Both require a target audience for engagement and for their success. I can argue that both can be used for propaganda but the two main differences for me are on the basis of space of freedom and emotion.

One allows for a more a liberal form of communication with a touch of personal style to this space of freedom and is more emotive than the other. And this is where, poetry finds its unique spot in society.

In her Poetry and Current Affairs show, Noluthando explores the idea of there being a potential for the two to converge. Merging in the sense that, she drives the message of seeing poetry as having the same stature and opportunity to service the public in as much as journalism does in society.

I was instantly drawn in as the show’s cover backdrop flashed “Breaking News” on the screen to the audience as we awaited for the show to begin. A lot, from seeing that backdrop alone, ran through my mind.

“Will this be a news show, with the typical anchoring format or, will the news show be poetic in a sense that the news stories rhyme, will there be a shock news announcement to be made and will this be current?”

Then the show began, and on stage Noluthando “The Poet” was accompanied and flanked by three ladies who provided a musical twist and treat to compliment the show. The ladies served as perfect sound commentary during the financial news update segment where Noluthando tackled the idea of how the financial news sound to the public’s ear, like a bombardment of carefully orchestrated numbers and complex economic terms that only echo and gong in the ear of the listeners. But does this relevant information, which is served to us daily, make sense or mean something to the person listening? Less than ten minutes into the show and already, I was engaging, starting to question and interrogate the content.

Still on her bring accompanied on stage, it was clear that Noluthando is one to shine with others from how the show was arranged and presented. She shared the stage and spotlight with talented, local and raw musicians who not only complimented the content of the show but delighted the audience with their unique performances.

The show probed the emotions behind current affairs stories and issues affecting society from the anger around the pointlessness of #BringBackOurGirls in the pursuit of the  girls abducted in Nigeria by terrorist group Boko Haram, the humour surrounding the #ZumaMustGo protest, insurance adverts on our TV screens scaring us to death over that inevitability to the contradictory statements made by our politicians in parliament. Of late, South African parliament has been an interesting space for news content with the likes of “Point Of Order” and “Being Recognised” trending on social networks. I liked how the blend of news-style reporting, coupled with an interesting style of words used, light humour and vocals complimented the show overall.

News reporters often use the phrase “at least 50 people have died today” on their bulletins. Noluthando use this to probe the emotions around the probability of one having the chance of knowing at least one of those ‘at least 50 people’ by name or the people they may have interacted with or is the number of those that died the only important thing that matters? Is it worth digging through their stories or does the fact that their lives have ended the only important thing to take note of? Is there even space and time to explore such depth and emotion? – rather get your life insured as soon as possible, so as the adverts and reality encourages.

The show then took us down memory lane with a tribute to our fallen musical legends. The likes of Brenda “MaBrrr” Fassie, Lebo Mathosa and Tsakane “TK” Mhinga were profiled. The musical highlight for me had to be when the political parties engagement segment was unpacked, including a piece regarding the Marikana massacre, with the background song being that of the late Mirriam “Mama Africa” Makeba’s Nongqongqo. A song that still resonates with me long after catching the show. Everything was planned to the core, from the choice of music, harmonies, appropriate venue with rich history of its own, outfits, lighting to the sound.

Noluthando also got the opportunity to share one of her best poems to date controversially titled “Condoms & Cards” about the scourge of unprotected sex in relationships, HIV/Aids and infidelity in society. In this piece, I share a snippet of the poem for you to have a listen.

The programme director Joao-Pedro did a flawless task, during the intervals of the show, to encourage engagement with the audience to reflect on the content that was showcased, providing different perspectives and views across the backgrounds represented. This was a great way to engage with the content on-the-spot, apart from simply using hash tags on social media.

This is one show that gives current issues an emotive element. Prepare to laugh, be angry, engage, probe, introspect, reflect and question your reality. A feast for  lovers of poetry and music; a treat for those current affairs addicts and a specially-packaged gift to those who enjoy a combination of the three. I must also confess that for what the show offered, I got a lot more than what I payed for. I take this opportunity to wish Noluthando and her team, all the best as they embark on taking this show piece to other parts of the country for many to also see. I thank them for finally packaging current affairs in a way that has emotion, relevance and effectively conveys the message to the audience.

Spoken word is now breaking news.

Dear poetry, meet current affairs.