Cheryl Lassen

Panache - The Spirit of Life Cheryl Lassen

Matilda's journey begins with the knowledge of possibilities, the taming of her mind and the control of her body. The story takes you on her journey through the unknown; of her life growing up in a humble Coloured township during apartheid and her venture through the joy, pain and laughter that was the abyss of her love life. She makes one think about the parts of us that others don't and will never see, and parts of us that others will never know. The parts of ourselves, our minds and our cares that teach, admonish, criticise, are conflicting yet simultaneously belong and exist in the same person. Her view shows the lighter side of apartheid - because that was the way that she saw and experienced it: watching white kids enjoy themselves, her attempts to act as a "Play-white", her reclassification, her defiance of the Immorality Act, her mixed marriage, heartbreak, ridicule and pre-judgement, painting these as a set of comical challenges. She exposes the thoughts and the depth of her existence and essence that are invisible and intangible, yet present through experiences of love, lust, trust, delight, pain and death; having no beginning and no conclusion. The deeply complex character has fun talking to her mind and to The World at large, telling tales of the past, the present and the future, guided by a prayer: 'Grazie e Dio, Lo sai che ci sono qui. Thank You, God. I know that You know that I am here.'