‘Powerful drama’ returns to the Baxter

With a string of local and international awards and after touring 17 countries, the Magnet Theatre’s longest-running production, Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking, returns to the Baxter for a limited season, from 3 to 13 April at 19:30 nightly, and with matinee performances.

Directed by Mark Fleishman and starring Jennie Reznek and Faniswa Yisa, this production celebrates the resilience of human beings and the healing power of the imagination. It traces the story of a young refugee woman in Africa who loses her family and home, brutally and irrevocably, and is forced to journey to a new place through many dangers and uncertainties. 

Created in September 2006, foreshadowing the first violent attacks on Somali nationals in the Western Cape, Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking was born out of an intense empathy with the life experiences of refugees.

“In 2006 the situation for refugees and asylum seekers in this country was difficult, frustrating and painful. With this work, we wanted to respond with a strong sense of the possibility of healing and renewal,” said Reznek.

Although this was long before forced migration grew to become a current global theme, with more than 25 million migrants worldwide today the production is more relevant than ever.

Original music

Original music is by Neo Muyanga, with choreographic sequences by Ina Wichterich, set by Julia Anastasopoulos (Suzelle DIY, Tali’s Wedding Diary) and lighting by Daniel Galloway.

“Jennie Reznek and Faniswa Yisa are two master performers who use their poignantly articulate bodies and voices to tell a heartbreaking tale.”

Yisa and Reznek first performed together under Fleishman’s direction in 2004 in Fireraisers. Since then this formidable team has created, along with Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking, multiple celebrated productions including Voices Made Night, Cargo and Autopsy.

The revival of this groundbreaking theatre piece is a rare opportunity to see a masterful example of physical theatre that has impacted so strongly on the development of physical and image theatre in South Africa.

The Herald called it “a powerful drama beautifully portrayed”, while the Argus Tonight described it as “creative sorcery”.

Veteran theatre critic and writer Adrienne Sichel said, “Jennie Reznek and Faniswa Yisa are two master performers who use their poignantly articulate bodies and voices to tell a heartbreaking tale.”

Fleishman, a professor and head of the Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies at the University of Cape Town (UCT), has published many theatre texts and academic articles (mainly on South African theatre), and is a founder member of the Magnet Theatre.

Reznek, a UCT graduate, is an award-winning actress, teacher and director. She is a director and founder member of the Magnet Theatre and runs the bulk of its youth development programmes.

Yisa, also a UCT graduate, is a multi-award-winning actress. Performances in recent years include Reza de Wet’s Missing, Ityala Lamawela, Born in the RSA and What Remains, for which she won the Best Actress award at the 2018 Fleur du Cap awards.