Xova, ‘Ukuxova’, a Xhosa word meaning to prepare dough for home-baked bread, portrayed as a metaphor for the process of raising a child, which we journey with in the narrative. The endured hardships of solo parenthood and father absenteeism is brought to stage for examination. Set on a dry and dusty village on the outskirts of Pretoria, Xova follows a young woman in a heavily disadvantaged family bringing a healthy child to life and having to raise it without the Father. Her husband abandoned the family after being retrenched from his job. He does not have any idea of him being a father. His wife, only in her early 20’s is left to be a sole breadwinner for her family and new-born. A tale with a blended text of Xhosa and English, the body language and emotions carry the story through performance art. “The story is told through melody and movement, designed with a 3D feel and enriched by symbolism and minimalism.
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