HOW TO SURVIVE FESTIVAL

The National Arts Festival offers a major challenge for “KZN hothouse flowers” in coping with the cold as well as finding the required stamina for this exhilarating but truly hectic period. artSMart editor, Caroline Smart, offers her suggestions for surviving the National Arts Festival so that you can enjoy every minute of it!

Humphrey Tyler (a former Durban arts editor) offered the best advice to survive Grahamstown and the Festival:

“Dress like an onion with an open mind!” - i.e. dress in layers and be prepared for ANYTHING performance-wise!

Grahamstown residents are predicting a cold festival but don’t let that put you off. Pretend you’re going skiing without all the skiing paraphernalia!

1. Grahamstown can be cold, there’s no doubt about that, but provided you dress warmly, the exercise of walking from one venue to the other and the stimulation of the productions will keep you energised. If you don’t have a car, it’s advisable to get fit beforehand. Get some exercise and stock up on vitamins. Even if you aren’t an actor or actress and need to protect your voice, try not to talk out of doors after about 5 o'clock. That’s instant sore throat story.

2. Grahamstown’s weather does its own thing but the forecasts are usually accurate. You can trek down there with all the armoury you can muster against the cold and you could find yourself with sunny days when a light T-shirt and slacks and sandals are fine. But be warned, this won’t last long and if you are there for the full festival, eventually Festival Freeze sets in.

3. Take a hot water bottle and/or bedsocks. Sleep in a poloneck to protect the throat, go to bed fully clothed if necessary to keep the body heat intact and bath/shower in the morning. Remember, it’s Festival! Anything goes!

4. The important thing is to be warm at night so that you can enjoy your festival run-around in the daytime. Never mind what you look like, even if you go to bed with a beanie, scarf and tracksuit. If you’re travelling with a partner, tell them to put up with it. It’s Festival!

5. Remember that Grahamstown is situated in the arid Eastern Cape so water is a very valuable commodity and should be used as sparingly as possible. It takes time to get hot water going through the cold pipes in the morning, so here’s what you can do. Take a thermos flask with you if you have the space or else buy one at one of the supermarkets, it’s worth the cost. Fill it up with boiling water the night before and then you’ll have warm water in the morning to wash your face and hands. Try putting in hard contact lenses after washing them in ice cold water – as I used to do before I became enlightened. It is not to be recommended!

6. Things have changed considerably over the 26 years I’ve been attending the festival. There is now a vast range of food available – in the old days, there were boerewors rolls takeaway stands and two restaurants (one of them a steakhouse) and that was it, never mind the poor vegetarians! Now you can get any kind of cuisine virtually at any time of the day or night!

7. I would suggest you take a satchel bag that is large enough to carry your jersey, scarf, beanie and gloves as the day gets warmer and then it’s on hand to put it all back on again later in the day as the cold sets in. The bag should be big enough to carry that mammoth festival programme and your notebook and a pen (as well as a standby pen should the other run out).

8. Remember that - except at the Guy Butler Theatre in the Monument and Rhodes Theatre - there is no reserved seating, so it’s first come first served. You will spend a fair amount of time waiting in queues for the doors to open, especially if there’s been a technical glitz with the set-up for the show.

9. My advice is also to go to the toilet whenever you can, preferably after the show when the queues are much smaller.

10. Pick ‘n Pay at the Pepper Grove in African Street is fantastic at Festival, it stays open very late (as does the shop at the petrol garage just down the road) and they have a range of take-away stuff that is well-prepared and often delicious.

11. Have a look at the map in the programme so that you get an idea of where everything is situated.

12. The Cue magazine is a must. This is an initiative produced by the Rhodes University Journalism Department in collaboration with a number of sponsors, including BASA. This will give you daily news on what’s happening as well as reviews on the Main festival productions. The Fringe Clips offer short paragraphs in terms of reviews but basically, the best route is to keep your eyes and ears open. People talk about productions and recommend them and sometimes this power of word-of-mouth has turned an excellent struggling production into a sell-out.

13. Check out the programme for information on The Hopper Bus which moves around the festival venues and is R5/ride. Shuttle from PE Airport to Grahamstown – R200 one way/R400 return.

14. I have four people reviewing for artSMart (including myself) and these reviews will be on artSMart as soon as humanly possible. I will also try to get my impressions onto FB. However, I write a daily diary which encapsulates the day’s activities.

This year, I am avoiding the horrendous road through Mthata and Butterworth and opting for the Kokstad, Matatielle, Maclear route. I have been assured by the AA that it’s tarred all the way. It apparently takes about 45 minutes longer but the roads are quieter and the traffic apparently better behaved!

Hope to see you in Grahamstown. Have fun. Prepare to be Amazed! It’s Festival! - Caroline Smart