Tonight, I am a fucking princess! -The protagonist
Don’t Believe A Word I Say is a comedic, heartwarming and truly entertaining one woman show written and performed by Tankiso Mamabolo and directed by Faniswa Yisa. It follows the journey of an awkward 30 something year old woman as she takes the audience through funny, heartbreaking and powerful stories from her childhood as an awkward black girl who just wants to be loved and accepted. You think you know where it’s going, but you won’t believe it.
Don’t Believe A Word I Say is autobiographical and delivered in a series of childhood stories and cheeky monologues as the protagonist, a 31year old black woman, grapples with her womanhood and the moments in her childhood that left long lasting memories and contributed to the person she grew up to become. She brings her inner child to the forefront and together they process, reminisce and come to terms with Life, loss, desire and the need to be perceived as one perceives themselves.
The play explores and satirises Hollywood romantic comedies and the unrealistic beauty standards projected by these movies that black girls are forced to aspire to from childhood, due to the lack of adequate representation. Questions of sexuality, belonging, representation, desire and the need for positive black male figures in the lives of young black girls growing up in a patriarchal and hyper-masculine culture are explored.
Don’t Believe A Word I Say gives the audience the rare opportunity to witness the intersections between blackness, girlhood and class and how these experiences follow black girls into womanhood often leading to self-doubt and insecurity. The protagonist seamlessly moves between her adult self and her childhood self, generously revealing her full humanity to the audience