MUSHO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

Entries called for festival of One and Two Hander Theatre taking place at Catalina Theatre in January.

The Performing Arts Network of South Africa (PANSA) KZN will host the fifth Musho International Theatre Festival of One and Two Person Theatre in Durban from January 7 to 17, 2010, and invites interested theatre groups to apply to perform.

Every year, theatre groups from throughout South Africa, and abroad, stage new productions in Durban in January.

After extensive research, PANSA realized that a festival early in the year staging more intimate theatrical productions is considered a great start to the year by performers and audiences alike. Musho benefits the performers as staging their shows and collecting reviews early in the year helps them for future seasons of the production through the year. The audiences love seeing an array of fabulous theatre early in the year when calendars are quiet and when the festive flurry is over.

Musho – Zulu for an enthusiastic praise response, something similar to “Bravo!” - embraces all true and accepted forms of theatre: from mime to physical theatre, drama to comedy-theatre. It pays tribute to the smaller works featuring one and two performers.

“The first four festivals held in January 2006, 07, 08 and 09, were astonishingly inspiring and successful with some fabulous productions, interesting dialogue, master-classes and amazing support,” says Musho Festival Director, Emma Durden.

Planning is still underway for the 2010 festival. Presently the Catalina Theatre is confirmed as the major venue – with a possible second venue still to be decided. Shows likely to be at the festival include the new one-hander by festival regulars Mary Steward and Ewok, and Tara Louise Nortcutt.

For more info contact the Catalina Theatre on 031 305 6889. Full programme will available at www.mushofestival.co.za by the end of the year.

PANSA is calling for new theatrical works staged by one or two performers to be part of the festival. Written motivations with details of script outline and performers should be emailed to festival director Emma Durden on emmadurden@magicmail.co.za by mid-November.

For more info, contact PANSA administrator Domy Cortes on 031 208 9430 or 073 719 0444 or domy@pubmat.co.za or visit http://www.pubmat.co.za