Theater

Marching to the beat of a different cultural drummer doesn’t always make you miss your stride. “Mysteries,” as performed by the South African company Dimpho Di Kopane, feel like a crescendoing, ecstatic drumroll. In tandem with the “Season SouthAfrica” going on at the Museum for African Art, Dimpho Di Kopane wheel their wildly successful tour of classics into St. John the Divine. Reminding us there’s a lot more to medieval passion plays than just the Passion, they use humor, generosity, and a whole lot of drums to shake the dust down from the Synod Hall’s walls for good.On a steeply raked stage, surrounded by metal scaffolding, the 40-strong company mills and gossips. Dressed like civilians, in woven caps and kerchiefs, they gather around one spectacular looking fellow in a many-colored sarong. Of course he’s well-dressed; he’s God. Angels in incredibly embellished “halos” sing and dance in his praise, Lucifer gets cast into an actual fiery pit, and Adam and Eve disappoint their father. With Satan back on the prowl in a red leather suit, idylls disappear right and left. Cain slaughters Abel, the deluge begins, and Christians meet with Roman persecution. But ebullience counters the Devil’s designs at every turn. Jesus spreads his Word through dance, arriving triumphantly in Jerusalem at the head of a stamping, singing throng.A Mystery cycle tries to get the whole Story told in one evening, so things move incredibly quickly. An gels (with “Angel” written on their jumpsuits, and feathers in their caps) sweep up after the messier numbers, or pour water out of watering cans to symbolize the Flood. The company sings from the sidelines songs culled from Xhosa, Zulu, or Afrikaaner Church traditions. They can make music from anything – either bouncing tires or Mary’s piercing operatic soprano.Director Mark Dornford-May and musical director Charles Hazlewood have made something thrilling and new out of the oldest possible components.

Theater

Theater

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