Renowned South African artist William Kentridge's production "The Head & The Load" is almost ready for its long-awaited African debut on the continent.

"Being able to show (this piece) at home is very important," Kentridge told AFP of the show, which looks at the plight of African porters who transported weapons, cannons and supplies for European forces during World War I.

The production made its international debut in London in 2018 but was never performed on African soil after delays related to the Covid pandemic.

South African artist William Kentridge at the Johannesburg theatre on April 20, 2023 in South © Africa MARCO LONGARI / AFP

The play will finally be performed from Friday at the Joburg Theatre in Johannesburg.

It's about "a hidden story, a story that was deliberately hidden," Kentridge, 67, said as the cast gets their bearings for a final dress rehearsal Thursday night.

According to UNESCO, about one million African soldiers, porters and workers took part in the First World War. More than 150,000 Africans died in the conflict.

"I think the starting point of the project was ignorance, and an embarrassment towards myself in the face of my own ignorance, I thought I knew about the First World War," says the artist.

- 'Neck pain' -

The play "The Head & The Load" takes its name from a Ghanaian proverb – "Head and weight are neck pain".

During the rehearsal, words written in large white type are projected onto the stage.

"There is (...) a physical load that people carry, there's a historical load on how we got here and there's a psychic load on how you keep that story in your head," Kentridge said.

Music director, composer and visual artist Thuthuka Sibisi at the Joburg Theatre in Johannesburg, on April 20, 2023 in South © Africa MARCO LONGARI / AFP

Renowned for his animated films of charcoal drawings with changing shapes, the artist describes the show as "a very broad drawing... moving in three dimensions", combined with silhouettes, "added text and lots of music".

Choreographer Gregory Maqoma said he is looking forward to performing in front of a local audience.

Gregory Maqoma, dancer, choreographer and director of the Vuyani Dance Company, at the Joburg Theatre in Johannesburg, on April 20, 2023 in South © Africa MARCO LONGARI / AFP

This piece is intended to "fill" a void for "those who never returned home," he said.

Among those missing was a distant relative of the show's music co-composer, Thuthuka Sibisi, 35, who said one of his ancestors died aboard the SS Mendi, a British steamer that sank in the English Channel in February 1917.

The ship, he said, was taking more than 600 South African soldiers, mostly black, to the front in France.

"The role and responsibility here is to (...) reconsider what we think is history," Sibisi said.

"The Head & The Load" will be performed at the Joburg Theatre until May 6.

© 2023 AFP