The ancient art of Xhosa storytelling has been brought to life by two new plays debuting at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown this year - and both use puppets to tell their tale. Red Earth Revisited tells the story of young Xhosa prophetess Nonqawuse, whose prophesy is said to have led to the downfall of the Xhosa nation in Eastern Cape.Writer Saskia Janse, from the Dutch Puppet Theatre Company, said the inspiration to write the play had come from one of the show's eight puppeteers."His aim was to tell the Xhosa people a story about their own because he said many don't know their own history," she said.Puppets, Janse said, often made better actors than humans."Actors are limited when they're on stage. A puppet can travel across the world in a single scene on the stage but to set that up for an actor would not be so easy. Also, during a play it is chaotic and confusing to have too many people on the stage," said Janse.Qhawe tells the story of a prince who is forced to take a second wife when he discovers that his first wife is barren.Jealousy, revenge and hate are the main themes in this Xhosa fantasy, told by a crew of six. The show was produced by the Mais-Puppet Company and incorporates traditional Xhosa music and dancing...