New theatre fusions at Arts Fest
24 March 2005
New cross-genre fusions, new multimedia spectacles, new scripts and new culture-smart agendas stimulated by new audience appetites: these are the dominant flavours on the theatre menu for the National Arts Festival 2005, taking place in Grahamstown from 30 June to 9 July.
"A new tribe of mature and professional South African artists with international experience are cooking up a storm in the Mzantsi arts kitchens", says festival director Lynette Marais.
"The ingredients for this festival were garnered from the four corners of our creative marketplace by people who know the shortest route to the heart of an audience."
Main programme theatre line-up
The universality of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is recharged by international director Janet Suzman. This Baxter Theatre production features a stellar cast, including John Kani (King Claudius), Dorothy Ann Gould (Queen Gertrude) and Rajesh Gopie as the tortured
prince.
More depravity and corruption, this time in South Africa's townships, is tackled in "Relativity", written and directed by Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner Mphumelelo Paul Grootboom.
In Kobus Moolman's "Full Circle", a trio of rightwing fundamentalists prepare to exact "an eye for an eye" from the enemy without, while the enemy within gnaws at their narrowing reality. The play was Jury Winner for Best Script at the PANSA Festival of Reading of New Writing 2004.
Directed by Malcolm Purkey and produced by the Market Theatre, Mike van Graan's "Hostile Takeover" is a sharp satire on black economic empowerment and the ethics and mores of capitalism, South African style. Van Graan's Fringe play "Green Man Flashing" was one of the hits of festival 2004.
"Newtown", a Johannesburg/Birmingham collaboration, pulls out all the stops to celebrate the rebirth of twin cities. The people driving this regeneration tell their stories in drama, dance and music.
Afro-Caribbean UK writer Don Kinch and South African director Aubrey Sekhabi drive this team effort from the South African State Theatre and Birmingham Nu Century Arts.
"Angels Everywhere" swings the spotlight south, to the streets of Manenberg, Cape Town, for an energetic slice of life by Aduragman Adams and Lisa Oppelt, directed by Oscar Petersen for the Art and Soul Collective. This isn't happy ending terrain, but where there's laughter there's hope.
"Ambie Sistas" hails from Kimberley, where a group of fame-hungry singer/dancers share stories with an ageing singer. Maturing in the State Theatre's 52 Seasons development programme, this Northern Cape Theatre Conservatoire production was written by Moagi Modise and directed by Kholofelo Kola, with Mbongeni Ngema as musical director.
Belief in human goodness and the healing power of nature radiate from "Wood for the Trees", a collaboration between Fresco Theatre and Tweeling Productions inspired by Jean Giono's "The
Man Who Planted Trees". Directed by Jaci Smith with Gys de Villiers, James Cuningham and Helen Iskander, it's a lyrical, feel-good delight.
"Spice Root" comes from Indonesian-African collaboration Teater Gelombang Badan (Wave Body Theatre). Created by Rehane Abrahams, the theatre piece uses classical Javanese dance, shadow puppets, Gamelan music and food (prepared on stage by Cass Abrahams) to explore the legacy of slavery and exile.
Alba Theatre (The Netherlands) places August Strindberg's 1889 classic "The Stronger" in a contemporary theatre dressing-room, where two new-generation Dutch actresses - Dutch-African and Dutch-Turkish - peel off costumes and wipe away make-up to expose and confront one another.
In Michael Frayn's uproarious "Noises Off", a sex farce ("Nothing On") plays on the "real" stage while another, even zanier "real-life" farce plays out backstage and fast-talking characters try in vain to keep the two apart.
More fun and games in the
Street Theatre programme will have spectators howling for more. Ellis Pearson and Bheki Mkhwane lace laughter with a lesson in "What about Me?" as they bridge the divide between selfish and communal interests.
Hypnotist and showman extraordinaire Stef Juncker flashes his skills as juggler, magician and escapologist in "The Great Escape - the story of Harry Houdini".
French/Kliptown invention Aywa is back in the form of a fascinating four-metre high puppet and two shows, "The Story of Aywa" and "Memories of the Struggle". The pieces are part of the ongoing workshop on the history of Kliptown lead by Neusa Thomasi, Éric de Sarria and plastic/visual artist Arnaud Rabier for Kliptown Youth.
"Vuka! Vuka!" (Wake Up!), directed by Roel Twijnstra, is a collaboration between Het Waterhuis (the Netherlands) and six South African performance groups. A funky open-air spectacle based on a fusion of stories about children surviving on the streets, it features big screen video to
add to the sounds and action.
Growing up with the National Arts Festival as part of their landscape, youngsters from Grahamstown's Eluxolweni Shelter present "Ex/Change", a show created with the guidance of Art of the Street project leader Alex Sutherland.
The Studio offers another road to fame for aspiring Eastern Cape performers. This year's brace of dramas smile and sing and dance while they take the scalpel to hypocrisy, greed and lies.
Devised and directed by Silulami Lwana, "Sinners" takes the mickey out of corruption in government education offices, while "The Moja Man" makes fun of a "reverend" with plenty of skeletons in his cupboard. Grooving to the swing of township jazz, this Lovedale Community Arts Academy production is directed by Lindile Diniso.
A third Studio production, "Cacadu Cabaret", celebrates the wealth of dance and musical talent in the region under the direction of Tina Piek.
Adding a surprise package of options to the main
theatre programme, Fringe 2005 will feature big names, young hopefuls, new works and popular favourites.
And, seeing more is always better, there are 10 productions on the Student Theatre programme: a fascinating barometer of what's to come on the performance spaces of the future.
Participating companies hail from the universities of KwaZulu-Natal (both Howard College Durban and Pietermaritzburg), Cape Town, Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Rhodes and Free State as well as the Tshwane University of Technology and the Durban Institute of Technology.
SA movies head up film fest
Festival 2005 offers cineastes the chance to catch a couple of premières and get up to speed on some of the most important new South African movies.
Golden Bear winner "uCarmen eKhayelitsha" (featuring the lyric company Dimpho Di Kopane), Oscar nominee "Yesterday" by Darrell Roodt, Ian Gabriel's "Forgiveness", Craig Freimond's "Gums & Noses" and the
Afrikaans production "Skilpoppe" will be screened.
Vincent Gallo (of "The Brown Bunny" fame) is a focus point of the international programme, as is a selection of Spanish films in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605), a benchmark in the history of the novel by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616).
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.
Source: National Arts Festival, Grahamstown
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