Stepping into Traverse One there was a definite air of something about to happen.  Something big.  For weeks now the press have been previewing and predicting the shows that are going to be huge in the festival and in every broadsheet, every free paper and every radio discussion the money was on a relatively unknown Township Stories. The reason is a moderately successful art house film called Tsotsi had spawned a new flavour of the month and he and one of his co-stars were coming with it.  So, with the hype normally reserved for a Madonna lesbian kiss, the focus was on a new South African production and thankfully it didn’t disappoint.

Township Stories follows the fate of a schoolgirl who flees her home after a lifetime of squabbling and abuse with her mother and a lack of support from her spineless father only to find solace in the arms of a gangster who believes that life’s problems can be solved with violence.  The locals never intervene in her plight as they too are living in fear as a serial killer stalks his prey, hunts them like lions and brutally rapes them while garrotting them with their own underwear. 

This worryingly realistic tale (according to its scribe) is set in a post-apartheid South African Township and gives a shocking insight into the barbarity of its society as characters become increasingly interconnected in the hunt to find the murderer. 

Although it’s primarily about modern day life in South Africa, it’s fundamentally about the breakdown of a community unable to cope with the pressures of survival.  As the horrific stories unfold on stage, the gut wrenching imagery is ironically underscored with contemporary music from the likes of Tracey Chapman, Paul Simon and Norah Jones as well as more traditional South African Kwaito music providing some of the most poignant theatrical moments seen this festival.

Written and directed by Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom this refreshingly raw production boasts numerous moments of brilliance with seamless physicality, stark honest emotion and daring subject matter. 

As the action drags you through an endemic of violence, teenage pregnancy, home abortions, alcoholism and paedophilia you can’t help but respect the grit and dedication from the flawless cast dealing with possibly the most challenging materials of their careers. Indeed the presence of the excellent Presley Chweneyagae may have overshadowed the other talents within the cast and one can’t help but feel that there is more than one star on the rise here.

Make no mistake though, in this world subtlety is unheard of and what you will see is a far cry from our muted ideas of South African theatre.  True, there is singing and occasional dancing, but both usually lead to the sort of tragedy only your subconscious could create as night terrors. The promotional materials come with a stark warning about the adult content of the piece and a recommendation that it’s suitable for over 18’s and though there are numerous moments where one feels emotionally shattered and physically uncomfortable as an observer, the warning seems overly cautious meaning that many of the theatres mature young visitors may be denied the opportunity of seeing the birth of true genius.

If you don’t have a ticket for this already, it may well be too late.

Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street (0131) 228 1404

Wed 23 Aug (1.15pm), Thu 24 Aug (4.15pm), Fri 25 Aug (7.15pm), Sat 26 Aug (10am), Sun 27 Aug (1.15pm), Tue 29 - Thu 31 Aug (8pm), Fri 1 - Sat 2 Sept (2.30pm & 8pm)