Annual festival of One and Two Hander Theatre at Catalina Theatre.The Performing Arts Network of South Africa (PANSA) in KZN will host the sixth Musho Theatre Festival of One and Two Person Theatre, at the Catalina Theatre in Durban from January 12 to 16 2011.
“Musho” – Zulu for an enthusiastic praise response, something similar to “Bravo!” - embraces all 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.
After extensive research, PANSA realized that a festival early in the year staging more intimate theatrical productions is considered a useful and exciting 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.
“The first five festivals held in January annually from 2006 were astonishingly inspiring and successful with some fabulous productions and amazing support,” says Musho Festival Director, Emma Durden.
Planning is well underway for the 2011 festival. The Catalina Theatre will again be the major venue. It is anticipated this year’s festival will be run along similar lines to last year – as a scaled-down festival in one central venue. “That means the productions which make it to the festival are really going to be special!” says Durden.
In addition to the nine top-notch productions from around South Africa, this year’s festival sees the addition of the Musho Twist. This involves six short productions from community theatre groups involved in the Twist Theatre Development Project, which is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. These six groups are paired with award-winning writers and directors, including Neil Coppen, James Ngcobo, Anton Krueger, and Amy Jephta. These dynamic collaborations promise to bring something fresh and exciting to Durban audiences.
Shortly after the close of each show, reviews will appear on the Musho website.
From Bush To Country (Wednesday, January 12 at 20h00). The hilarious, hard-hitting and heartfelt tale of one man’s journey through the mad history of Zimbabwe. A secular historian with a crisis of faith meets his ancestral spirit guide, and together they time-travel through the country’s past and uncertain present. This is a bold, gritty yet optimistic perspective on the highly contested story of Zimbabwe. (Drama. Ages 14 and up. Written and performed by Arifani Moyo, directed by William Le Cordeur)
F*Ck Politics – Let’s Dora (Thursday, January 13 at 20h00) It’s 1977, and a nice Jewish boy from the leafy suburbs is on his weekend pass from the army. He kicks it off at The Butterfly Bar, one of Hillbrow’s most famous gay bars. A show about drag queens and disasters, Forces Favourites and compulsory military conscription. This is a piece of nostalgia – but definitely not for the faint-hearted. (Comedy. Ages 16 and up. Written and performed by Robert Colman, directed by Toni Morkel)
Shika-Land! (Friday, January 14 at 18h00). Everyone’s done it ... Googled or face-booked their names just to see what comes up. In Shika-land, five women who all share a name are celebrated in their diversity. While not quite a theme-park, Shika-land is nevertheless a rollercoaster of a show. (Comedy with poetry. Ages 16 and up. Written and performed by Shika Budhoo, directed by Dhaveshan Govender)
H.O.T.T. (Friday, January 14 at 20h00) Crackling with the sound of words that can’t be held down to a page, driven by the musicality of high-octane praise poetry and given physical life by a table designed to have the performer constantly perched on a precarious ledge before tipping off and falling… in love? (Slam poetry / physical theatre. Ages 16 and up. Written and performed by Nkosinathi Gaar, directed by Sjaka Septembir)
Ouma (Saturday, January 15 at 18h00) After his beloved grandmother’s death, a man has to stare down the eyes of the wolf in his grandmother’s closet before he can finally say goodbye to her. In this process he is immersed in the disturbing and complicated web of realities and illusions of his past, and finds that saying goodbye means having to renegotiate who we are. (Physical theatre and masks. Ages 14 and up. Written and performed by Sjaka Septembir, directed by Nkosinathi Gaar)
Paperboy (Saturday January 15 at 20h00) A brand new show about Newspaper boy, Aspiring Actor and Detective, 22 year-old Bobby Jones. Bobby begins his day making a difference in the world by delivering the newspaper to the people of Alice Road, until his infamous right arm, swings a newspaper into an open window hitting late Mrs Moodley’s ashes flying into the air. This act of foolishness spins out of control and is a catalyst for a series of unfortunate yet very amusing events which finds Bobby breaking into houses and using detective tactics to uncover some facts about his mother that were best kept under the rug. PaperBoy is a fast-paced production with loads of colourful characters portrayed in speedy costume changes. Written and performed by Durban born Grant Jacobs. (Comedy. Ages 14 and up. Written and performed by Grant Jacobs, directed by Liam Magner)
Crush Hopper (Sunday, January 16 at 14h00) A personal tale of searching for love and identity in a small town. A light-hearted look at relationships, how they affect identity and the interesting contexts they are birthed in. Looking at the “game” theory of how men and women negotiate relationships, one girl tries clumsily to apply its rules. (Comedy. Ages 14 and up. Written and performed by Mandisa Haarhof, directed by Ntokozo Madlala)
The Swansong of Norrie Da Silva (Sunday January 16 at 16h00) Norrie Da Silva, an agile dodger of truth and a magnet for tragedy, has lived a small life. Today she’s crashing through to the other side trying to hold on to her baggage and not smudge her make-up. (Tragi-comedy. Ages 14 and up. Written and performed by Belinda Henwood)
Men’s Room (Sunday January 16 at 18h00) Festival Favourite Mary Steward is back with her familiar brand of comic story-telling, this time considering what she knows about boys and men. Her lively and engaging characters and sketches weave together, presenting the truths of our differences and the importance of our vulnerabilities. From what goes on in the locker rooms to the need for the ‘cave’, and the ‘war’ of sport, men and women alike will laugh as they nod in recognition. (Comedy. Ages 14 and up. Written and performed by Mary Steward) SPONSORED BY PENTRAVEL.
The festival is supported by Twist Theatre Development Projects, KwaZulu Natal Department of Arts and Culture, and Pentravel. For more info / to book tickets contact the Catalina Theatre on 031 305 6889. Full programme available at www.mushofestival.co.za. Tickets can be purchased online at www.strictlytickets.com or at www.goingplacessa.co.za / www.goingplacessa.com
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