Rousing ‘Truth’ kicks off festival

You know a show isn’t going to be run-of-the-mill when the first song lyric goes, “Fortythree wounds on his body. Acid in his face. Chopped off his right hand. Then he was blown up.”

That’s not the only surprise in “Truth in Translation,” the touring South African play that kicked off the Colorado Festival of World Theatre on Friday night.

The show was created for the 10-year anniversary of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The commission allowed victims of violence under apartheid to confront the perpetrators publicly; both sides could tell their story, and the accused could ask for amnesty.

The commission is credited in part for the fact that South Africans avoided a bloodbath when apartheid was abolished.

“Truth in Translation” premiered in Rwanda, and has toured several other places in the world where forgiveness is most desperately needed. It’s a compelling story, and it holds the audience’s interest. But it doesn’t always make for compelling theater.

One reason is that the story is told through the eyes of the interpreters. This puts the audience one step removed from the drama of torture, murder and revenge. (Much of the text — like the song lyrics — is drawn from actual testimony)

And while “Truth in Translation” perfectly exemplifies the world theater the festival exists to promote, taking it out of its native culture necessarily weakens its impact, simply because much of this story is unknown to Americans.

The result is a a fascinating history lesson. But many historical characters who would resonate with South Africans remain two-dimensional to us.

The excellent 11-member cast gives a sense of the immense breadth of South African culture. Sandile Matsheni is charismatic as Jake, an actor who hides his own suffering behind a back-slapping persona.

Baby Cele exudes warmth and strength as Nobuhle, a woman whose job was to comfort witnesses during their often-harrowing testimony.

Nick Boraine’s Peter is conflicted: White, yet ashamed of what his fellow whites have done.

Hugh Masekela’s almost jarringly mellow score draws on jazz and pop music, yet sounds thoroughly African.

For artistic director Michael Lessac — an American who grew up in New York — creating the play required him to change his own views on forgiveness: “I felt it was a trick of the powerful to keep the non-powerful down,” he wrote.

If the play could inspire this insight in its audience on a large scale, it would be incalculably important.

Alas, “Truth in Translation” is a story about catharsis that isn’t itself cathartic. Ultimately it’s a moving buddy story about the translators themselves — a worthy achievement, but not one that lives up to the show’s advance billing.

IF YOU GO

The Colorado Festival of World Theatre presents “Truth in Translation”

When: 2 and 7 p.m. today, 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Armstrong Hall, Colorado College

Tickets: $23-$45; 227-0086 or www.cfwt.org