Simon does a G’town Taps
In the words of the song – “the carnival is over”. Grahamstown 2010 is done and dusted.
I have just read Megan’s last post about the guy she met in Jozi and it has moved me. I realise just how isolated we have been in Grahamstown where the happenings in other parts of the country and the world have been put to one side while we revel in and celebrate the incredible talents that this country produces in the field of performing arts. It is one of things I like about coming to Grahamstown.
Finished off by seeing Nic Ellenbogen’s “RAIDERS OF THE LAST AARDVARK”. This is the 21st Raiders and I have seen them all. Over the years luminaries such as Ellis Pearson, Andrew Buckland, Rob van Vuuren, Jodie Abrahams and a host of others have graced the Raiders’ stages as well as, of course, a cast of thousands drawn from audience members as Raiders is the original audience participation show. Over the years the plot may have changed from year to year [and thickened] but the format stays the same. Visual gags, verbal gags, clever sets and clever things done with the sets; visual and verbal puns abound [mostly dreadful] but full house audiences love it and lap it up year after year – me too !!! This year’s offering takes us back to year 1 with the first appearance of the famous yellow tiger moth, the “ AARDVARK”, and Salty Hepburn, its pilot, played in year one by Nic and in year 21 by Luke Ellenbogen. Roll on Raiders for the next 21.
Then by invitation to a Festival Organising Committee press conference for the announcement of the Standard Bank Golden and Silver Ovation awards. These Awards “recognise and celebrate innovation and excellence on the Fringe programme of the National Arts Festival by putting the spotlight on cutting edge-work that is strong, diverse and original”. “LONDON ROAD” won the Golden Award for Theatre !!!! Well done Robyn, Ntombi, Lara, Jonathan, Craig, Faheem and Braam – your creativity and passion makes “LONDON ROAD” what it is, and it is beautiful. And let’s not forget Christine beavering away like mad telling the world to come and see the play and tell everyone else to do so.
Other winners of Golden Awards were “BUTCHER BROTHERS” for Physical Theatre, Guy Buttery for Music and David Newton for Comedy.
Final thoughts – I don’t think that the 15 day format worked that well and I think that going back next year to a 10 day Festival is a good thing. Overall I thought the 2010 Festival was an improvement on the 2009 one with particular reference to the shows on offer – it was stronger and more vibrant. It was more South African than previous years and was supported by a greater spread of South African’s than previous years. I WILL BE BACK IN 2011.
Finally thanks to Megan for allowing me a guest spot on her blog - strength to your writing arm, girl.
Some more Simon from the fest
Another quite light day today – started with a lekker chat over coffee with James Cairns, Taryn Bennett and Jenine Collocott and then moved on to see “HATS”. Listed as a physical theatre piece in the programme [and yes can’t argue with that but it is not quite all encompassing enough] it is difficult to categorize. A comic dance gymnastic ?? A gymnastic comic dance ??? I don’t know but hell it was fun. Written and directed by Pieter Bosch Botha and featuring Richard Antrobus and Tristan Jacobs, the action takes place on, around and above an elevated bar [a bit like one of those bars the gymnasts use when competing] from which hang 2 swings and a number of straps from which one can hang and swing. The bar is elevated by ladders at each end. The action is fast and furious and comic. There are 4 sketches, each telling a simple story. The third is worth a special mention for the images created using I don’t know what but mysterious shapes and animals seem to float onto a darkened stage and glide across the performance area, dipping and diving around the performers. The two performers are completely in sync, both one with the other and with what they are doing. 55 minutes whizzed by and the end of the show was greeted with loud and prolonged applause from a very healthy crowd. Not my normal beat but glad I went.
Then “THE BUTCHER BROTHERS” directed by the awesome Sylvaine Strike assisted by Daniel Buckland and featuring Mongi Mthombeni and Jacques de Silvathe. I commented at coffee that I had now had enough of masks and James Cairns then replied that if I saw “THE BUTCHER BROTHERS” I would see how masks can be used. And he is right. Very very good. A story of two brothers who run a butchery – one finds a seemingly abandoned baby and they take it in and care for it. When a kidnapper tries to take the baby away from them, things turn nasty and “Fried Green Tomato” like as the kidnapper is disposed of and turned into sausages. And it gets worse from there. So a dark tale ultimately but it contains humour and some trade mark imagery from the directors. In my top 5 for the Festival.
A “LONDON ROAD” update – we have 3 performances to go and 103 seats left to sell [out of a 510 capacity for the 3 shows. We will at least 8 and probably 9 sold out shows in a row. Thank you Grahamstown !!!
G’town from Simon
I feel like Plato this morning, having a written discourse/debate with Simon.
Megan is a old [and respected] theatre hand. Yes I have been coming to the Festival for a long time – this is my 19th in 22 years – but I don’t have the background of having studied drama and I did not work in the performing arts world until 2004. So I have never seen “HELLO AND GOODBYE” – said to be Fugard’s best or one of – and here it is presented to me with performances by the 2 South African actors who have made those roles famous. And “revisit”, in my case means go and see a play again after 12 years, a play that I rated as a 10 when I saw it originally. How many of this year’s Festino’s have not seen either of these two really worthwhile performances and isn’t it great that they have the opportunity to do so now ? Isn’t that one of the roles a national arts Festival should play ?
The pace is beginning to tell – yes on me but also generally. Theatre-goers are a bit more scratchy and irritable than at the start of the Festival; the desperation to get tickets for the shows that are selling out has become that little bit more aggressive; the criticisms of bad organisation a little bit more biting. Numbers are definitely more than mid-week last week and no doubt there will be a bit of an influx this weekend for the last 2 days. Bring it on !!!
Only 2 plays yesterday – one was my production, “LONDON ROAD”, with my family and friends, and although it is the heaven-knows-how-many-times-I-have-seen-this-show, I loved it all over again and was crying at the end like about 80% of the audience. Then I saw “…..MISKIEN” [which I know Megan saw and loved when it premièred in Cape Town] – I can see why it was so well received. Maybe it could do with being slightly shorter but it is well acted and it deals with a subject that some people find difficult – suppressed / blooming homosexuality between 2 macho males – very cleverly. Tara Louise Notcutt won a newcomers directorial awards at the Fleur du Cap Awards ceremony this year for “…..MISKIEN” and together with the performers, Albert Pretorius and Gideon Lombard, she has done a good job here. It is quite rough and doesn’t pull punches – it has in fact grown on me in the 12 hours since I saw it and I suspect will continue to do so for a bit. Definitely glad I saw it.
More from Simon’s fest
Of course I’ve read through Simon’s day yesterday and although he is enthusiastic about 2 of the three things he saw, I am like, been there done that about all of it. From Fo to Fugard. How many times can the festival offer A Woman Alone? Every time an actress wants to do a one-woman piece without writing the thing: Bam! Out comes Fo. Eish. Same goes for Hello and Goodbye, my favourite yet over done Fugard. Yes Dorothy and Michael are brilliant; again! And just the word ‘revisit’ to describe “One Man’s Life” makes me yawn, even though I love Eric Nobbs. But hey, that’s why Simon’s there and I’m here; getting ready to go to Jozi and soccer on Friday night (omg!) and Beautiful Creatures on Saturday!
The Official word [extracts from] : “The National Arts Festival has announced a 7% increase in ticket sales on June 28 – the halfway mark of the 15 Days of Amazing. …….. ticket sales for the first half of this year’s event ………. were showing a 7% growth on last year’s figures. ……..…….. Lankester also said that a strong offering on the Fringe was shifting the focus of audience attention, with theatre and dance productions showing some growth at the expense of some of the comedy offerings. “The Fringe theatre programme this year is incredibly strong – with productions like London Road, Breed, Stilted, Decadence and Karoo Moose all finding their way into the Top 20 grossing productions so far – a list that was previously dominated by stand-up comedy acts,” he said. On the Main programme, the Festival’s ballet and music offerings have proven to be the most popular. Other productions that have attracted strong audience and critical response include comedian Paul Zerdin, and theatre productions Man to Man, with Antoinette Kellerman, and Neil Coppen’s Tree Boy.
Right, back to the action on stage. First was the second half of a double header performed by Nina Lucy Wylde. I saw the first half, “THE HUMAN VOICE”, last year. It is an intense, evocative and emotional play about a phone call by a woman to an ex-lover – she is trying to hold it together and to convince her ex-lover that she believes that ending the relationship [by mutual consent it seemed] was the right thing to do when clearly she doesn’t really feel or believe that. Lucy gave an enthralling performance giving full rein to the emotions of the character. This year she has added the second half called “A WOMAN ALONE” by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, translated by Gillian Hanna and adapted by James Cairns. This is what I saw yesterday and I was a little disappointed to be honest. The play is about a woman trapped in a desperate marriage with an abusive husband, a serious lech for a brother in law and a whining child with a would be groper for a neighbour. All of this combines to drive her to drastic action that is the play’s climax. There is certainly meant to be a funny side to the thing but I missed the pent-up desperation that the woman must feel and which eventually wins out. I don’t think that Lucy has challenged herself, or been challenged, to portray the emotions of the character. She whizzes through the performance on the surface of the character playing it very lightly and superficially when there is so much more. Lucy is a talented actress and she can, and should do this. If she does, the production will grow enormously.
A return visit after a number of years to Eric Nobbs’, “ONE MAN’S LIFE”, written and directed by Deon Opperman. Relating the story of how the character [unnamed] met and married the love of his life, the play goes off on several tangents in to other aspects of his life and boyhood/adolescence. Humourous, poignant, gripping and well-performed, this [by now] classic was well worth another look. The unexpected ending and the emotions that it stirs, gripped and silenced the audience yesterday. The play underlined for me the gap that Opperman’s absence from a Festival such as Grahamstown leaves and conjured up those days when there were 3, 4 ,5 Opperman plays around. It seems he doesn’t trust English language Festivals that much anymore – a pity. But this one is definitely worth seeing.
Lastly 2 hours and 15 minutes [including interval] of Fugard’s “HELLO AND GOODBYE” with Dorothy Ann Gould and Michael Maxwell. Wow and wow again. If this production ever comes anywhere near you, go see it – don’t think about it, don’t ponder, go down to Computicket and buy a ticket or 5. I drove home in a dwaal, blown away by a virtuoso performance. It’s the best thing I have seen this year simply because of the class acts that are Ms Gould and Mr Maxwell and their pure brilliance on stage.
Today my family and friends are coming to “LONDON ROAD” en masse – I am nervous. Why ?
Simon is still seeing things!
While I’ve been cooking and football watching Simon has been seeing plays!
Oh my aching head !!!! My Festival life was invaded yesterday by a returning wife and stepson [from the UK], other family and friends – so naturally, as one does, we had a bit of a skop last night and my head aches this morning.
A quiet day [for me that is] yesterday – the Festival itself seemed just as busy as the weekend. “LONDON ROAD” has a day off to give the girls a rest and I saw only 2 shows. The first was “BREED” performed by the Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company featuring Andrew Buckland and Nox Donveli, directed by Brink Scholtz and written by Brink Scholtz in collaboration with the Cast. Telling the simple story of a group of squatters who take over an abandoned farmhouse, and the man who owns it who has his own demons and ghosts, it is a humourous, humane and wonderfully performed play. That some of the squatters and the farm owner have an intertwined history becomes apparent as the play goes on. For me personally it was great to see Andrew Buckland on the stage after quite a bit and to watch him weave his magic but he was definitely not alone on that stage and the other performers were really good. I suspect that quite a few of them will owe the development of their talent to Janet and Andrew Buckland. A goodie for sure !!!
From one Buckland to another – fth:k’s “QUACK” with Daniel Buckland, Liezl de Kock, Lysander Barends and others. Described as an “afro-gothic visual theatre experience”, it is one of the plays developed by fth:k which asks you to “listen with your eyes”. Performed with the whole cast in masks and with no dialogue, “QUACK” is a complex and, to me, difficult piece from the fascinating mind of Rob Murray who wrote it and directs it. I think, and I really mean that I am not sure, the piece traces the life, times and death of a demagogue – whether he is political, religious or other I don’t know. He has a following and he makes speeches which are acclaimed but in secret he inhabits an elevated laboratory / lair where he is attended by an old crone and other acolytes. The old crone is a bearer and keeper of the secrets and she knows where the bodies are buried – literally, she buries them ! He needs to draw blood / life essence / spirit from his followers using a demonic pump and inject same into to him to survive and this sometimes kills the subject of the withdrawal. Then he creates a follower in his lab and uses her to draw down what he needs. But she is a rebellious, lively, enquiring spirit and is eventually his downfall. When she commits suicide and he threatens another follower, the old crone and another who loves that follower conspire to deny him the medical treatment he needs and so he is overthrown. Actually it perhaps even more complex than that but I am going on a bit really to try and re-assure myself that I have got some kind of handle on the plot. In my view this is probably the least accessible of the 3 current fth:k offerings – to what I would regard as an average audience that is. It is very well performed by the cast, and the set and the fx [both sound and special] are fantastic. I hope I have got it right !!!! [To Zane – this is as far as I have got !!!!]
And so to day 10 of the 2010 Festival – bring it on.
More Simon Says
I am amazed at how much Afrikaans stuff is on at the fest this year. And of course how many replays there are. Here’s Simon’s yesterday. You go, Simon!
So the weekend is over and it seems that numbers will shrink a little as the weekend festinos return home. Yesterday was cold and wet to start with and cold and clear to finish with – the Poms got thumped by the old enemy and that did penetrate the Festival. Confirmation from house guests that the craft markets are same old, same old – “even the food stalls are in exactly the same places”. It will be interesting to see what the traders say at the end regarding turnover figures.
Started the day with Danie Matthee’s “VRY” – not a good start. It’s been done before and it’s been done better and quite why an Afrikaans boytjie is telling a story in Afrikaans about a Polish Jew caught up in the whole Nazi thing and how a priest [Christian nogal] is his salvation, I don’t quite get. But it’s not the subject matter or the religious angle / preaching that the piece contains that worries me, but that it is badly performed and too long and oh so overdone. Nuff said.
Moving on – to Lara Foot’s “KAROO MOOSE”, choreographed by Mdu Kweyama, written by Lara Foot and with music composed Bongile Montsai. Stunningly strong performances from the 6 strong cast featuring Chuma Sopotela, Mdu Kweyama and Thami Mbongo and visual images on which to feast. Following the story of happenings in a far away almost forgotten Karoo village and of two families in the village, the performance produced a well earned standing ovation from a very nearly full house. The music and the movement are brilliantly executed and add to the telling of the story and indeed play an integral part in it. I know this one has been around for a bit [and no doubt Megan has reviewed it !!!] but if it comes back to a theatre near you and you haven’t seen it, go !! Oh and Brian Habana liked it as well.
Then to the beautiful Rhodes Chapel and Jeremy Quickfall’s “MY GRAND [SE MA] PIANO”. For a long time I have been fascinated by a phenomenon in the cricketing world. You know how a young player who does exceptionally well in first class cricket in South Africa is then promoted to the national side and he just doesn’t make the grade however much the selectors persevere with him. He just cannot make the step up. I guess that happens in all areas of sporting endeavour and now I think it happens in the world entertainment as well. Mr Quickfall’s pedigree and achievements [and oh yes he told about every one of them] suggest that he can take a step up to big time entertainer – sorry, no. He plays the piano very well and maybe he should stick to that and stop prancing around the stage. But to say that most of his audience feels the same would be a bare faced lie – my mate did suggest that people got to their feet at the end because they wanted to escape and because the pews in the Rhodes Chapel are excruciatingly uncomfortable, but I think he was being unkind. Some people, a lot of the audience, clearly enjoyed the show. Not me though.
Finally “NORMALITY” with Pedro Kruger, directed by Hennie van Greunen – “the 2009 Edinburgh Festival hit!” about the life and times of a crippled man [crippled progressively since he was 3 years old]. Not shying away from any aspect of being crippled the play through its story and its music, looks at what it is like to be seriously physically disabled – some times funny, other times heart breaking but ultimately, through the love of a good woman, a story of hope and redemption and a coming to terms with the disability. Pedro Kruger, who I knew previously only from “Liriekerrai” on TV, surprised with the depth of his performance and his understanding of the character. Well directed and presented on stage, this was a really good ending to the day. Partial standing ovation.
Simon’s Busy Day
Simon was at it again yesterday. Interesting for me is how many of the pieces he talks about I have already seen and reviewed. I’m just saying!
Saturday June 26 – day 7 of the Festival. Nearly halfway there. Grahamstown is much much fuller – parking is a problem now and the informal parking attendants scurry around squashing potential tips into every conceivable space. The queues outside shows are longer. Haven’t been to the markets yet or heard how the traders are doing – in fact the only comment I have heard is the age old complaint that there is nothing much new to be had at the markets – same old, same old. The soccer World Cup is muted – the bars and cafes have soccer on the screens although one I frequented yesterday remained faithful to the rugby players and was showing the SA v Italy match in East London. Flags on cars abound but vuvuzelas are not that strident. But the talk at the venues is about theatre and not sport.
“LONDON ROAD” is flying – the last 2 days have been effectively sold out by the time the doors close and man are people talking about it. Standing ovations and words like “amazing”, “extraordinary” and “exceptional” are the words used by people coming out of the shows. Robyn, Ntombi and Lara have done an incredible job with this show – they rock and “LONDON ROAD” rules OK !!!!
5 shows yesterday, starting with an old friend, Gaetan Schmid’s “RUMPSTEAK” – one of our party had never seen it so the rest of us re-visited it. Gaetan was on top of his game and it was tremendous. In case there is someone out there who hasn’t seen this show, it depicts the behind the scenes happenings at a French restaurant using something like 800 sound cues and few words from Gaetan. James Webb, the sound designer, has strung together an incredible array of sounds and it is up to Gaetan, performing on a 1m square area, to time his performance to the cues. Good audience numbers and a fantastic reception. Chrissie who had not seen the show was captivated.
I followed this by doing an interview on Algoa FM and then saw “DECADENCE” with Scott Sparrow and Emily Child directed by Chris Weare. Raunchy, raw, a little shocking but great theatre. Depicting the lives of 2 couples, one very upper class and rich and corrupt and, well, decadent – not married but having an affair – and the other lower middle class – the woman being married to the upper class gent and wanting to shaft him good and proper for deserting her but at the same time conducting an affair with the “private dick” [innuendo!!] she has hired to get the goods on her husband and well, actually, get rid of him. They too are not above behaving badly. Spoken for most of time in rhyming couplets, the pace is “Usain Bolt” fast and never flags. If you are squeamish about language then stay at home and order a pizza but if not try and see this one. The after theatre dining scene and the hunting scene are worth looking out for, the latter being laden with sexual tension as Emily rides the horse that is Scott in pursuit of the fox.
Then on to “BOSMAN’S VELD MAIDEN” with Barbie Meyer. As far as I know, Barbie is the only woman who has taken Herman Charles on. I saw a show of hers about 2 years ago and that was pure Bosman retold in Barbie’s style. She had a following then and on the evidence of last evening, she still has. I felt that this show was not as good as the last one I saw and I fear that at least 2 of the stories told are not stories written by Bosman but maybe based on articles he wrote. I didn’t enjoy this show as much as the last one but I am in a minority that’s for sure.
Down to the Library Hall to share James Cairns’ latest offering “DIRT” with a packed audience. Cue wrote the other day something like “Cairns is so good at what he does that it is ridiculous”. Yes !!!! Written by Nick Warren and directed Jenine Collocott, “DIRT” on the face of it traces the journey of 3 friends to Cape Town for the funeral of a fourth. Their aspirations, problems and faults are laid bare by Cairns in what is a tour de force of a performance. Cairns plays about 7 or 8 characters, the guys who are on the trip, and those they meet on the way. Oh, and Tom the dog – his is an important part [serious]. Its funny, it’s clever and it allows one of South Africa’s leading exponents of the thespian art to strut his stuff. James’s lady was at the show last night and she commented to me beforehand “its good” – she was wrong, it’s more than good. If this one comes anywhere near you, kill to get a tickets [and you might have to].
And so with weary legs and tired feet, we repaired back to the Princess Alice to see “I CLAUDIA” with Susan Danford directed by Lara Bye. Chronicling a period in the life of pre-teen coping with changes in her and her parent’s divorce and using masks and slick costume changes to great effect, “I CLAUDIA” is another tremendous piece of theatre. The 4 characters who inhabit the play are all slightly unusual but Danford switches effortlessly between Claudia [a 13 year old girl], a caretaker at her school from Bolgonia [where ??], Claudia’s grandfather and the ghastly step-mother to be, Leslie. Rightly acclaimed by the audience last night, Susan Danford ranks up there with the best and “I CLAUDIA” reflects that.
So a good day. We are now at that stage where you shake the rest of your Festival programme and see what falls out and replace that with what the street tells you to see. That’s the first job today, Sunday.
Not a bad daily pickings Simon!
More from the East
Simon is still seeing things in G’town. Here’s his latest offering. I missed High Diving when I was last at the fest. And I saw Antoinette’s pic in the Booking Book. She looked amazing. Those are two shows I would have loved to see. Also, David Mamet could be one of my ‘gods of theatre’ so it looks like Simon chose really well.
Friday June 25 – back to the Festival after a “day off” on Thursday. And man oh man, what a day !!! Lots more people around – good – and “LONDON ROAD” posted sold out signs for the first time plus I saw 3 excellent productions.
Starting with Antoinette Kellerman’s “MAN TO MAN”, directed by Marthinus Basson – dealing with the life of a woman, who to survive in the time of the Weimar Republic takes over her dead husband’s identity [and gender] and who lives the rest of a life as a man, the play is powerful, complex, moving and brilliantly performed – again mention of Braam du Toit’s sound must be made as it complements and highlights the story. A packed Rhodes Theatre was held enthralled for 90 minutes as Ms Kellerman held them in her considerable thespian grasp – her accent never slipped, her mastery of the text and the set and how she used them both was extraordinary. Wow.
Then on to PJ’s to meet up with one of my best friends, Mike, and his fiancée, Chrissie, who had just arrived – first up for them and next for me was “BOSTON MARRIAGE” – a David Mamet play featuring Claire Mortimer, Janna Ramos Violante and Belinda Henwood. So called from a term coined after Henry James’s novel Boston Marriage denoting a relationship between two females that may involve both physical and emotional intimacy”, the play deals with 2 women who in such a relationship and the troubles that come their way when the younger one falls in love with a [never seen] young girl who happens to be the daughter of the older woman’s “sugar daddy” – as you can see a Boston marriage is not an exclusive relationship, it seems. “BOSTON MARRIAGE” is very funny [actually witty might be a better word] and moves at a pace that exhausts even the audience. The one liners are brilliant and all 3 performers are outstanding.
Last on the agenda was “HIGH DIVING” featuring the incomparable James Cairns in about 6 roles, Toni Morkel, Deborah Da Cruz and Roberto Pombo. Jenine Collocott wrote and directs the play. Following the lives of two young people making their way in modern day Johannesburg, the play is about hopes and ambitions, sometimes shattered sometimes not, about opportunities lost and taken and about learning lessons. But lest you think that it all sounds very serious, it is also very funny and James Cairns and Toni Morkel [also in a variety of guises] excel. Janni Younge’s silhouette puppets and the original music composed by Andrew Ord with lyrics by Nick Warren and performed by Andrew Ord and Roberto Pombo all add considerably to another great Festival show.
I, on the other hand, am enjoying the theatre desert that Cape Town is, while G’town happens.
More of G’town through Simon’s eyes
It’s one thing posting somebody else’s thoughts and opinions, but having to read their comments is quite weird. Theatre people are amazing. They will find that crit, and respond to it. I love that. Google has made it so much easier, and Meganshead, all thanks to Big Friendly. I have to say, I am loving posting somebody else’s words for a change. And I’m still not jealous about being there.
Here’s more from Simon.
Day 4 – the day the lights went out. At about 16h55, Grahamstown blacked out in the middle of countless shows and in my case as “KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN” was about to start. We never got to see it as by the time the lights came back on, the play could not be performed without backing up the rest of the evening’s schedule. Guess that experience, in one way or another, was duplicated all over the city.
Did however manage to see 4 other plays in the day. “THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW DRESS” is a stunning piece of theatre – it is a pity that it finished at the Fest yesterday but it is at the Baxter from June 29 to July 22, 2010 before going overseas, returning to South Africa for a season at the Market Theatre in Jozi Co-presented / produced by the Citizens Theatre (Glasgow), Live Theatre (Newcastle upon Tyne) and Market Theatre (Johannesburg) the play “set in Paris, ……is a dark, witty and sexually charged psychological drama that explores the relationship between Celia, a beautiful young English teacher, and Pierre, her French-Congolese pupil”, both of them with secrets they would rather not reveal, both of them dealing with a growing attraction that they seek to deny. Written by Craig Higginson and featuring Marianne Oldham (UK) and Nat Ramabulana (SA), it is a brilliant example of how to tell a story comprehensibly. Go see it.
Next was “KAPUT”, a new play with Taryn Bennett (Frogs; Doctor Collinger’s), Helen Iskander (Baobabs…) and Dorian Burstein (Pictures of You) who breathe life into a wonderfully entertaining and funny “tragi-comedy”. James Cuningham directs. It is a simple story of love, brotherly and for the girl of your dreams. It bounds along at a pace and keeps you on your toes all the time – watch out for the co-star, Ricardo, who flaps in and out of the action. Mention also should be made of the set which is very clever and effective – I don’t know the name of the guy responsible but applause to him.
Third – “This Part should be Uncomfortable – Part I”. Well it was – uncomfortable that is. The subject of a fantastic review in Cue 50, it was way above this simple theatre goer. Avant garde dance – is that a good description? I don’t know. Choreographed by Nicola Elliott and featuring Lucy Kruger, Mpumelelo Malumo , Robin-Neil Williams + 2 scene changers of sinister demeanour, it seemed to me to be a series of slightly uncoordinated movements that made “So you think you can Dance “ look good. Perhaps I am too much of a dance philistine to understand this but I thought it was terrible. I won’t be going to Part II.
Then “Hex” – a very ambitious story telling project based on tales of witches and other bad women. It very nearly comes off but I cannot put my finger on why it doesn’t. Produced by Khomiso Theatre Company, directed by Heike Gehring, written by Riana Scheepers and featuring Chan Marti, Ntombi Makutshi and Coba-Maryn Wilsenach, and lavishly adorned with audio-visual aids and a complicated set, the cast in various guises take the audience through about 8 stories. Tending toward the sort of “spook stories” that your Grandmother frightened you with when she was angry with you, the semi-gothic feel that the Director has brought out of the performance is entirely apposite and enhances the story telling. Perhaps this is truly a “festival” piece that would battle in a pure commercial sense but then that is what Festivals are for, at least partly. I am glad I saw it.
And so to darkness and the end of the day. There are still not a lot of people at the festival but hopefully numbers will grow with the coming weekend. I am taking a day away from the Festival today to gather strength for the arrival of, first, my Festino mates and then second my family as the pace picks up next week.
Shoo, sounds like hard work to me!
Simon Says
This could turn out to be the beginning of a good relationship! Here’s Simon’s second post. Remember, you read it first on meganshead, when this guy gets his own blog!
And also, bravo and congrats to London Road!
Having read the first report, I can see that the immediate effect of the Fest on a festino is that the spelling goes !!!! But putting that behind me, the BREAKING NEWS is that “LONDON ROAD” has won a Standard Bank Ovation Award – this is something new to the 2010 Festival and plays get nominated by journos at the Festival and then a committee headed by a doyen of critics, Adrienne Sichel selects the winning productions.
To quote the Festival organisers “the new Standard Bank Ovation award recognises and celebrates innovation and excellence on the Fringe programme of the National Arts Festival by putting the spotlight on cutting edge-work that is strong, diverse and original”. Winners are publicly announced in Cue. Stickers bearing the Standard Bank Ovation will be awarded to each of the winners for display on their poster and inclusion on their marketing material. On the last day of the National Arts Festival, the winners of the Standard Bank Golden Ovation awards will be announced for five categories and each production will receive a prize of R 5 000, sponsored by Standard Bank.So the third day – still not a lot of people around – I mean finding parking at venues is not difficult, queues are short or shortish and the craft markets are quiet. A quiet day for me as well – first up was “WOMB TIDE” – the new offering from FTH:K. Written by Lara Foot and directed by Rob “Ugli Bob” Murray, with Liezl de Kock, Daniel Buckland, Kim Kerfoot and Emilie Starke, it is another example of how FTH:K have made an art form of non-verbal communication. Allied of course with their work in the field of deaf theatre, this has become their trademark over the last few years. The original script was as wordy as one would expect [so I am told] and has been rewritten. This was the piece’s first performance and it is excellent. Following the fortunes of a couple who meet, marry and adopt when they can’t have children, it highlights the plight of people, old and young, who are involved in the informal adoption world. But it is more than that alone and looks closely at the family dynamics as well. It is funny and sad. The set, props and background soundtrack are simply brilliant and are used to great effect by the performers. A standing ovation to set/prop ddesigners Craig Leo, Leila Anderson and Emilie Starke and sound designers James Webb and Brydon Bolton. See this one if you can.
Next up was “KRUISPAD” – no man come on !!! Described thus in the programme – “when a prominent Afrikaans businessman and politician is murdered at Crossroads, his household is left in turmoil. In this thriller – a modern twist on a classic tale – lies, deception and the decay of a society are exposed through graphic sex, violence and rituals. Not for the squeamish “. Ooohh my jina – Brett Kebble en alles. Let me say no more than that when the lights failed half way through and they had to stop to fix them, [and when the play had moved onto to the day after the cremation of the deceased with the actors still wearing their funeral clothes of the day before] it was a heartfelt opportunity to slip away. Wim Vorster as writer and director has not done Afrikaans theatre any good with this offering and has not drawn any notable performances from the actors. I can’t bring myself to name them as I don’t think it was their fault.
Today is a 5 play day so deep breath …………
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Randomness
