(A scene from “Fishers
of Hope”- pic by Oscar O’Ryan)
August is Women's Month and there's no better way to honour
the struggles, sacrifices and successes of women than at the Playhouse. Feast on
the fine drama, dance, dialogue, music and entertainment on offer at the annual
Playhouse Company’s SA Women's Festival (SAWAF) in Durban.
This year's festival takes on added significance as 2015 has
been named the African Union's year on women empowerment and The Playhouse
Company is proud to be playing its own critical role in the whole campaign.
Playhouse CEO and Artistic Director, Linda Bukhosini says
she is excited about the eclectic mix at SAWAF this year: "Audiences will
be inspired and entertained by a host of powerful, award-winning stage
productions, some of which have enjoyed critical and phenomenal acclaim both
here and abroad. Add to this mix a mouth-watering programme of dance dramas, a
gala concert featuring some of the biggest names in the music business, slam
poetry, musical entertainment, a children's theatre day, panel discussions, and
you have a festival that caters for a wide variety of tastes and all members of
the family. The festival will focus very sharply and purposefully on the issues
that impact on the advancement and empowerment of women, and the role women
continue to play in our new democracy."
The festival runs from August 14 to 22 at the Playhouse:
Men Standing Against
Violence on Women (August 14 at 14h00 in the Alhambra Room). In an effort
to curb the high rates of violence against women, and thereby promote gender
equity, this year SAWAF will also include a workshop promoting this very cause.
It will include a panel discussion of key male figures within the Gender Based
Violence sector. The members of the audience will also largely be male
participants as the idea is to have men talk to other men about this issue with
the hope of them ultimately committing to take action as a collective against
violence on women. The workshop will be facilitated by DramAide using the
Brothers for Life campaign.
Open Mic and Slam
Poetry/Sundowner Concert (August 14 in the Playhouse Grand Foyer): An
Open Mic and Slam Poetry session at 17h00 with Thuli Zuma and Bongani
Mavuso where poets will be given an opportunity to share their stories through
the art of poetry, covering a wide range of contemporary issues. This will be
followed by a Sundowner Concert with Khanyo Maphumulo from 18h00.
Fishers of Hope (August
14-16, Playhouse Drama): a relatively new South African play by multi-award
winning writer/director, Lara Foot who explores the meaning of hope in the
African continent. It received such rave reviews in the media when performed in
Cape Town that one critic hailed it as a production "that sets a precedent
to local theatre which will be hard to match". This is traditional African
story-telling at its best, mixed with dance, music and video projections.
Gala Concert (August
15 at 19h00, Playhouse Opera): A special treat is in store for music lovers who
attend the Gala Concert which features a predominantly women orchestra with a
full female choir, Maskandi and Umbaqanga. The line-up includes some of the
country's finest musical talent, including Thandiswa Mazwai, Mahotella Queens,
Sally Silver, Xolisa Dlamini, Vumile Mngoma and Khanyo Maphumulo.
Intergenerational Dialogue
(August 15 at 12h00, Playhouse Grand Foyer): SAWAF festival also provides
several opportunities like this event with Leeanda Reddy, Llianne Loots,
Estelle Sinkins and Lebo Mashile as the facilitator. The dialogue will
deliberate on the topic glamorizing the performing arts - the responsibility of
artists versus the celebrity fad and why sexual violence and violence against
women and girls are so prevalent on stage television and Movies?
Santa's Story (August
15-16, Playhouse Loft): a production that comes straight from a highly
successful run in New York, where the play featured in the First International
Folksbiene Yiddish Festival in June. It's a moving, one woman show depicting
Santa Pelham's journey of courage, inspiration and hope. It is a story enacted
by her daughter, award-winning singer Aviva Pelham who has distinguished
herself in several starring roles in opera, operetta, musicals and concerts
both locally as well as in London, Paris and Israel.
A Woman in Waiting
(August 21-22, Playhouse Loft): Written by Thembi Mtshali, this is a powerful
biographical journey into the dark heart of what life was like for women in
apartheid South Africa. It uses visual imagery, song, chanting and evocative
action to relate an emotive and compelling story that is so much a part of the
fabric of South African history. The show is directed by Yaël Farber.
Parenting Workshop
(August 22 at 10h00, Playhouse Grand Foyer): Among the speakers will be Zama
Mabaso, Director of Family and Marriage South Africa (FAMS); Paddy Kearney;
Hlengiwe Mgabadeli and Cookie Edwards.
If The World Was
Listening (August 22 at 19h00, Playhouse Drama): The Playhouse Dance Residency
will perform their award-winning periodic styled piece which presents a story
gallery of life journeys of adversity and the discovery of links in human
connection. Based on the personal stories of the company, choreographer Sandile
Mkhize finds subtle links between each visualized narration, giving voice to
caged truths.
Theatre Day for
Children (August 22 from 10h00 in Rooms 410/503) This event for the young
ones boasts loads of entertainment to keep them occupied with activities like
drumming, mask-making, face painting and dancing.
High Tea For All Women
In The Arts (August 22 at 16h30, Playhouse Alhambra Room): Another event
not to be missed with the Playhouse CEO and Artistic Director Linda Bukhosini
as the facilitator and Michelle Constant the CEO from Business Arts South Africa
as the keynote speaker.
For more information about this festival visit www.playhousecompany.com or Facebook
at www.facebook.com/DurbanPlayhouse.
The Festival hotline number is 031 369 9456. All bookings are through
Computicket or through the Playhouse box office on 031-3699540/ 9596. Special
discounted parking is available for all Playhouse patrons at the Albany/ Royal
Hotel parking.
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