(Back:
Roel Twijnstra: theatre judge and representing Twist; Gisele Turner: theatre
judge and representing Going Places; Everson Ndlovu: winner: Musho management
special mention award for Best Performer: Allegations; Mandisa Tshiqi: PANSA
administrator; Lindi Drummond: sponsor LTJ Travel; Emma Durden: festival
director and Fiona Suliman: sponsor: Suliman Selection
Front:
Jemma Kahn: performer: The Epicine Butcher and other stories for consenting adults
-Winner of Judges Award for Best Original Script (sponsored by Going Places) and
joint winner of The Audience Favourite Award : Main (sponsored by Pansa) Nkosinathi
Gaar: theatre judge and Siphesihle Cele: winner: Judges Award for outstanding
performer in a fringe production)
The eighth annual PANSA Musho! Theatre
festival of one and two person theatre, held at the Catalina Theatre in Durban
from January 16 to 20, has been judged a “fantastic and startling success” –
with full, enthusiastic houses, excellent new theatre and wonderful feedback
from participants and audiences.
Musho! is extreme sport for theatre – a
major festival held in Durban in January under rigorous conditions: Some 18
productions held in one venue over five days. Saturday sees nine productions
held back-to-back: which is a challenge for the technical team, but fabulous
for the audience to be able to watch virtually a continuous stream of
back-to-back theatre.
This year saw two excellent productions
from Zimbabwe looking at a country in crisis (Allegations and Half Empty /
Half Full) and a topical production from London (Sometimes I Laugh like my Sister) which took a personal look at the
death of journalists in the line of duty. The international productions shared
the stage with pieces from throughout South Africa.
The festival comprise the Main festival; a
New Voices programme; a children’s show (Fishy
Fippers) two productions from the Twist Development programme; a show that
was signed for the hearing impaired (The
Spinster) and a Master-class for industry practitioners on Puppetry.
“Musho is a wonderful asset for Durban. It
is very special and the range of work is quite incredible. In fact (as a
performer from Johannesburg) I am quite jealous!” said Musho judge,
Johannesburg theatre-maker, Nkosinathi Gaar.
Gaar joined Dutch / Durban writer /
director Roel Twijnstra from Twist and Pansa KZN exec member and respected
theatre practitioner and writer Gisele Turner. The judges looked at the
festival pieces critically to provide professional feedback and affirmation.
The judges’ awards complement the audience
vote in which every audience member participates in selecting the best
productions.
“January is a great time to be doing this
festival – it is an invigorating start to the year. Musho! helps new works by
giving the companies’ constructive feedback in the form of peer reviews which
are posted onto the Musho! website, and production photographs, and an awards
system. It is useful in the development of new work, for the companies to be
able to stage shows before a live audience,” says Musho Director, Emma Durden.
This year the productions covered a myriad of
topics – from land-grabbing in Zimbabwe to contemplating the end of the world;
from love to sibling rivalry; from super-heroes to poets; from justice to
corruption; from birth to death; from racism to spinsterhood. There was also a
touch of the whimsy in the form of mask theatre, puppetry and Japanese
paper-play.
It was an intense, beautiful, challenging,
and thought provoking five days.
Musho Awards:
Judges Award for outstanding performer in a
fringe production: Siphesihle Cele in Fikile
Judges Award from Best Fringe Production: Mob Feel
Judges Award for Best performer (sponsored
by LTJ travel): Cobus van Heerden – Le
Chop TV
Judges Award for Best Original Script
(sponsored by Going Places): The Epicene
Butcher and Other Stories for Consenting Adults
The Suliman Family Selection Award: Le Chop TV - with Special Mention to The Spinster and The Epicene Butcher and Other Stories for Consenting Adult
The Audience Favourite Award: Fringe
(sponsored by Pansa): Looking into the
Abyss
The Audience Favourite Award: Main
(sponsored by Pansa): A tie between Fishy
Flippers and The Epicene Butcher and
Other Stories for Consenting Adults
The Musho management special mention award
for best performer: Everson Ndlovu from Zimbabwe production, Allegations.
The festival is organised by PANSA KZN, the
Performing Arts Network of South Africa, with support from The Daily News, Ethekwini
Municipality, KZN Department of Arts and Culture, Business and Arts South
Africa, Twist, The Kingdom of the Netherlands, Pro-Helvetia, the Swiss Arts
Council, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
For more details about the festival, and to
read festival reviews, visit www.mushofestival.co.za or email kzn@pansa.org.za
Posts
