The ASSITEJ Family Fare Platform
returns to the National Arts Festival for a fourth consecutive year to promote
rich and diverse theatre for young audiences and their families.
Since its inception, ASSITEJ Family
Fare has provided a unique platform dedicated entirely to the needs of families
experiencing the festival. The venues provide theatre which caters to the whole
family, while Oatlands Prep, where the ASSITEJ Family Fare Platform has its base,
specifically provides interactive, creative and stimulating Family Fare
activities run by artists and ASSITEJ staff.
ASSITEJ has built relationships within
the Grahamstown family community, with local families returning each year.
Denese Palm, a local mom and entrepreneur, has for the last three years
provided wholesome and nutritious catering for audiences visiting the Oatlands
venue.
The ASSITEJ Family Fare Platform has
successfully gained recognition within the framework of the National Arts Festival.
Of the handful of prestigious Silver Ovation Awards issued at National Arts
Festival since 2012, the ASSITEJ Family Fare programme has already been awarded
two: the first for Jori Snell’s critically acclaimed Kitchen Fables in a Cookie Jar in 2012 and the second to
international ASSITEJ theatre company, Batida from Denmark, whose production A Man Called Rolex heralded in a new
category of award for Family Fare in 2014. Many other productions on the
platform have been awarded Ovation awards in recognition of their quality.
The ASSITEJ Family Fare Platform has
now extended across the festival, with performances at Oatlands Prep, Memory
Hall, Glennie and Centenary Halls. 2015 presents a rich diversity of 14
productions – entertaining, thought provoking and engaging – giving families
the opportunity of “growing up and growing together through theatre”.
On the Main Programme, two international collaborations are
featured. Red Earth Revisited by
Speelteater Holland and ASSITEJ SA is a re-imagining of the events around the
Xhosa prophetess Nongqawuse, seen through the eyes of a migrant stork. True
Confusion by ZeBu
(Denmark), aimed at ages 8 to 13, is a physical interpretation of the situation
where children find themselves paradoxically accepting their reality while
bombarding it with hundreds of questions. It is playful, challenging and
interactive.
The theme of Dance for Young Audiences is continued with an
exciting local production titled Once upon a Fire by Briony Horwitz, co-directed by Nkosinathi
Gaar and choreographed by David Matamela.
There are also a number of
performances which address issues like social injustice, crimes against
humanity, disability and inclusivity in exciting and challenging ways,
providing the opportunity for starting conversations with young people around
important issues. These include The
Orphan of Gaza by Eliot Moleba performed by Nidaa Hussein and Megan van Wyk;
Warrior on Wheels presented by the
Chaeli Campaign, directed by Jayne Batzofin; Mirrored Flaws by Thando Baliso, and The Rise and Fall’ presented by Sisonke Art Productions, directed
by Herbert Mokoena.
For more information click on the
banner advert at the top of this page to link you to the National Arts Festival’s
website
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