Free shows at National Arts Fest
28 June 2005
This year's National Arts Festival in Grahamstown will be offering a large number of free events, headed up by five productions on the street theatre programme. The festival takes place from 30 June to 9 July.
"'Arts for all' is high on our agenda," says festival director Lynette Marais. "Free events draw everyone into the festival, especially those on a tight budget. They also help new audiences develop a love of the arts."
Four of the street theatre pieces will be performed in both the city and at Nombulelo Hall in Grahamstown East.
Ellis Pearson and Bheki Mkhwane will present "What About Me?" This high-energy piece asks a selfish generation, "Can ME be swallowed up in US?"
Stage hypnotist Stef Juncker will get the whole family involved in "The Great Escape", a hilarious take on the king of escapologists, Houdini.
"Ex/Change" is a new production from the Art of the Street Project. Twenty-five youngsters associated with
Grahamstown's Eluxolweni Shelter for street children provide a view of life on their side of the tracks. The piece is directed by Rhodes University's Aylwyn Walsh, with members of Ubom!, the Eastern Cape Theatre Company, providing extra woema.
"Vuka! Vuka!" (Wake Up!) tells of a group of street children who journey through a frightening mythical world in search of a better life. This is a collaborative piece between Het Waterhuis (the Netherlands), Eager Artists (Durban), Ndlovu (Mpumalanga), Rydo (Limpopo), SOS (Diepsloot, Gauteng), SYDS (Johannesburg) and TVAAP (Limpopo).
The Mama Africa Theatre Company will present two shows, "The Story of Awya" and "Memories of the Struggle". The company is made up of youngsters from Soweto Kliptown Youth (SKY), French visual artist Arnaud Rabier, and French theatre professionals Neusa Thomasi, director of the Compagnie des Contraires, and actor Eric de Sarria of the Philippe Genty Company.
Audiences will be welcomed into Awya's
story by a three-metre-high puppet. They'll also get the chance to take part in puppetry, gumboot dancing and pantsula workshops, and see graffiti performances.
"Memories of the Struggle" tells stories from daily life in Kliptown, bringing the hard times, dreams and aspirations to life.
Other free events include exhibitions both on the Main and Fringe programmes, such as Brendhan Dickerson's fire performance sculpture (Friday 8 July) and the Sounds Crazy electronic music making machines.
Richard Cock and the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra will offer an hour-long interactive Introduction to the Orchestra session. The New Music Indaba programme includes two free concerts of electronic music from Africa as well as a free performance by top ensembles of work produced in the composers' workshops.
The Transnet Truck will offer music and light entertainment throughout the day. In the nightly Sundowner Concerts, fringe artists will present a short teaser advertising
their shows. This has been a highlight of the festival for the past 30 years.
The festival is sponsored by the Eastern Cape government, Standard Bank, the National Arts Council, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and the SABC.
For more information, visit the National Arts Festival website.
Southafrica.info reporter
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