Hayani

Hayani means home in Tshivenda. But where and what is home if you are young and black in post-apartheid South Africa?

Written and performed by Atawanda Kani and Nat Ramabulana, and based on their own experiences, Hayani relates how these two boys grew up in South Africa during the democratic transition. A series of monologues and dialogues told from the perspectives of relatives, friends and teachers, as well as the boys themselves, are woven together to create a narrative which has all the immediacy of oral testimony.

These components are arranged more thematically than chronologically - the only problem being that this almost musical fluidity can be confusing. I was frequently unclear as to which boy's story is being told and which characters are being represented. The production would not have lost anything had the plot, and who was who, been more clearly signposted; especially given that it uses more than one language.

Kani and Ramabulana's acting is superb. Without a single change of costume, a bewildering array of characters are given vibrant life. Their storytelling is immersive in its vividness and is amply aided by the continuous backdrop of live solo guitar music, written and performed by Matthew McFarlane.

This is a lyrical autobiographical drama, which highlights the way that home is not always the place that you might think; and by virtue of its intense humanity, among the most emotionally powerful experiences on offer at the Fringe this year.