One Hander – South Africa

The play is made up of a series of short scenes depicting different life situations. At the river a boy meets a girl and they are attracted to each other. At the tavern, alcohol is shown as playing a part in spreading AIDS. An older puppet dies of AIDS at the beginning of the play and this has an impact on the sexual behaviour of the other two young puppets. They decide to masturbate. The use of language in the play is minimal and is performed on a 6x6 metre stage. It uses music to reach out to audiences. The aim of this approach is to appeal to audiences of various language groups.

The play was rehearsed in the Netherlands for two months. This process was made possible by support from the Prince Claus Fund. The play has been performed in the Netherlands (at the Noordezon festival, Amsterdam) and in South Africa (at various institutions including Wits Technikon).

HIV/AIDS.

Organisers say masturbation is one of the oldest and safest methods of releasing sexual tensions. "In rural areas in South Africa, it was used to prevent pregnancy especially before marriage. A man would only penetrate the thighs of his partner not her vagina. If there was no partner he would resort to a solo performance as in using his one hand and his imagination. Since we don't have solutions to the AIDS crisis we need to look at options like masturbation."