Q&A: Reclaiming Roots with Dancer Xolisile Bongwana in "Return to the Forest"

What happens when the sterile halls of a museum meet the ancient, pulsing rhythm of the natural world? In the upcoming production Return to the Forest, audiences are invited on a transformative journey that begins with a high-stakes heist and ends in a soulful reclamation of heritage. We sat down with dancer, singer, and composer Xolisile Bongwana to discuss the magic of bringing inanimate objects to life, the intensity of the rehearsal room, and what it feels like to lead an audience from the "museum" back to the "motherland."

Can you tell us what Return to the Forest is all about and who you play in the performance?

I guess you could say that I play a lot of characters in the show, but I’m always me. At the beginning I’m part of a group of 5 people who perform a heist, taking some precious objects from maybe one of the biggest museums in the world. These objects are at the heart of the production. They are an ancient map, a Gelede mask, a calabash, an Ishoba and a heart made from Chinese silk string.

We run away with these objects, and the audience follows us eventually to where we meet new characters, each inspired by the precious objects we’ve taken from the museum, including a masquerade Gelede puppet who represents Mother Earth. We struggle to bring her to life because the earth is so dry. It’s in this scene that I sing and use the calabashes as percussive instruments trying to summon water to this magical world. We end up digging down into the roots, and sometimes you have to reconnect with your own roots – you have to follow your roots and bring the family back together.

At the end we celebrate every aspect that we have achieved – going back to our roots, to our motherland – mother earth has come back to life giving us hope.

What has the rehearsal process been like so far, and how are you finding the balance between the dance and the puppetry?

It’s been brilliant and challenging. It’s the first time I’ve had to deal with objects and puppetry throughout the process. It’s been a learning curve, and I’m discovering how to bring objects to life, investigating how much I’m the one giving the object life, and how much it is the object offering something. These objects already exist and we must learn to listen to them.

And I love when the two worlds meet - the world of objects and storytelling through dance. The dance comes naturally to me. I’m excited to see how this influences my work as a performer in the future.

What is it like collaborating with Gregory Maqoma and Sue Buckmaster to bring this world to life?

I’ve collaborated with Gregory for many years and I also trained at his company for 6 years. It’s a privilege to work with him; he knows how to get the best out of me. Working with Sue I’ve learnt a lot about getting to the truth behind a scene. Both Gregory and Sue like to explore and investigate – what is it that we’re doing, why are we doing it? Collaboration is constantly in the room. They create a free spirited and safe place for us. There is give and take, it’s not about telling us what to do, it’s about allowing us the space to discover and play.

You’re also a singer and composer too; does the music in the show change the way you move?

I think music is always inspiring. It will always change how I move because it provides different layers for different sections. The music for Return to the Forest is being composed as we rehearse, the two composers Frank Moon and Domenico Angarano are responding to what we’re doing. I’m used to working with live musicians who respond in the moment to the movement, so it’s a different experience for me.

Frank and Domenico send new composition sections after watching rehearsals and there’s an element of give and take – sometimes it’s too slow, sometimes too fast and they are able to adjust it in response to how the rehearsals are progressing, and what new discoveries we have found. There are moments when I’m following the music and then other moments when the music is following us – you meet each other halfway. The music for the show is really beautiful.

The show is a "heist" to free these objects in the museum—how do you show that excitement and "breaking out" through your body?

The beginning of the show is a heist. There are 4 other performers in the show alongside me, and we arrive at the museum to take 5 precious objects. That opening section is fun and joyful, and the choreography and music echo the filmic heist movies you see when red lasers protect the displays.

But the fun ends when the alarm sounds and we have to leave the museum and run and eventually we move to a new space where we have to slow down, we’ve been running for too long and the choreography changes again. We meet each object again in the forest, and each one triggers different movements. It’s difficult to explain so come and see it, it’s going to be beautiful.

The audience actually follows you through the performance space; how do you want them to feel?

Honestly, I can’t tell you how I want them to feel. There are so many different sections to the show, it’s a rollercoaster. And people will feel what they want to feel and those feelings will change throughout the show. It’s full of joy, fun but also there are moving and deep moments.

The audience will enter a museum at first, where they can walk around. There will be museum guides there to make sure they don’t touch the objects, and these guides are also there to take care of the audience. When you come to see the show you will watch us as we perform the heist, taking the 5 objects that are on display. Then you will follow us into a new, unknown space which eventually becomes a forest. But there will be seats, so the audience isn’t moving all the time.

There are so many different elements, the music, the movement, the objects and the lighting. These will all add to the audiences’ experience. There is something for everybody.

Return to the Forest is a playful, high-energy, and thought-provoking encounter for children aged 8+ and their families. This immersive promenade performance guides you through hidden spaces—from the clinical security of a museum to the wild, tangled heart of an enchanted forest.

You can catch the show in Manchester and London on the following dates:

Aviva Studios, Manchester 7–10 May - more information and tickets here: https://factoryinternational.org/whats-on/return-to-the-forest/

Sadler’s Wells East, London 28–30 May  - more information and tickets here: https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/theatre-rites-return-to-the-forest/