DUT NEW PLAYWRIGHT’S FESTIVAL

Review of the second night of the festival. (Philisiwe Sithole)

The drama studies department of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) recently presented a New Playwright’s Festival.

Professor Debbie Lutge is the founder, co-ordinator and artistic director of DUT’s new director's festival. The 2012 event saw a follow-up the two-phase festival and its impressive growth in 2011. The scripts were advised and collaborated by Genbia Hyla.

The platform aims to improve the writing skill and encourage new works. The plays are short 15 minute pieces with an option to grow these works into one-act plays in the future.

I attended the second night of the festival where three playwrights presented their work.

Wandile by Ndumiso Mhlongo is about a boy who has lived his life as a thug and has no father figure to encourage and advise him about the choices in life. Wandile gets a chance to meet his father for the first time and wants to set a good impression but his dad ends up dead. Wandile deals with family matters, crime and fatherhood. The script has beautiful relations and has contrast between a father who is always present and a father who is not. The dialogue is very expressive and intact.

invisible companion by Zintle Khanyile is about a powerful man who is dating a woman yet he is in love with a dead woman and makes for an interesting script. Featuring five actors, it is very symbolic and mystical. The script visually creates a powerful mood and atmosphere, and some lines are poetically written. The production deals with themes of love, spirits and communication.

the morning after the night before... by Phakama Dladla is about a man who wakes up next to a strange woman the morning after his bachelor party. This changes his life in blink of an eye. This script deals with relationships between friends and lovers and families. The dialogue is excellent and very realistic in a conversational tone with strong theatricality in some scenes. - Philisiwe Sithole