(Sifiso Khumalo & Julia
Wilson who will be seen in Flatfoot Dance Company’s “Days Like These”. Pic by Val Adamson)
South Africa's visionaries, mavericks and disruptors
headline this year's National Arts Festival, which runs from June 30 to July 10
in Grahamstown.
The programme taps into the national mood with fierce,
feisty and funny productions that both celebrate South Africa’s vibrant
contemporary culture as well as tackle the wounds of the country’s traumatic
and violent past.
Visitors to Grahamstown can look forward to world-class
performances from local and international theatre companies, including some
reinvented and reinvigorated classics, as well as to breath-taking contemporary
dance from the Cape Dance Company, sizzling performances by Aka, the African
prince of hip hop, family fare from the Chinese Guangzhou Song and Dance
Ensemble, and some heart-and brain-busting work from returning Standard Bank
Ovation Award winners on the Arena programme.
Ismail Mahomed, the Artistic Director of the National Arts
Festival, said he had relied on history to provide the context for building
this year's programme, which creates space not for nostalgia but for critical
reflection, analysis and re-invention.
'While this is a challenging time for South Africa, and the
arts sector in particular, we are proud to present a programme that is
artistically strong, textured in its expression, and effectively representative
of the diversity of the South African arts sector,' Mahomed said.
Now in its 42nd year, the National Arts Festival is the
largest and longest-running celebration of the arts on the African continent.
For 11 days, an eclectic mix of drama, dance, music, performance and visual
art, street performances and family fare is presented in the transformed
Eastern Cape town, enthralling and entertaining thousands of visitors.
This year, almost 80% of the Main programme is either
written, directed, curated or headlined by women, with acclaimed playwright,
director and producer Lara Foot leading the charge as 2016's.
Foot, the chief executive and artistic director of the
Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, will premiere The
Inconvenience of Wings. Set in a landscape of memory and dreams, it
features theatre bluebloods Andrew Buckland, Mncedisi Shabangu and Jennifer
Steyn. Foot will also restage two of her previous works: the award-winning Karoo Moose, starring the original cast;
and Tshepang, the extraordinarily
poetic and redemptive telling of one of South Africa's most brutal stories.
This year’s Solo Theatre Festival, supported by the Embassy
of the Netherlands, comprises eight inspired one-handers about women, performed
by women. 'The stories celebrate the compassion, tenacity and integrity with
which women engage in their political landscapes,' Mahomed said.
The productions include Ruth
First: 117 Days (performed by Jackie Rens); Amsterdam (Chanje Kunda); Immortal
(Jenna Dunster); Unveiled (Gushan
Mia); Penny (Zethu Dlomo); In Bocca Al Lupo (Jemma Kahn); Blonde Poison (Fiona Ramsay); and Watching (Ester Natzijl, a production
that comes to the Festival from the 2015 Amsterdam Fringe).
RELATED PRODUCTIONS
OoMaSisulu, based
on the life of Albertina Sisulu and performed by Thembi Mtshali, will premiere
in Grahamstown.
Noka Ya Bokamoso
is artist Lerato Shadi's exploration of the representation of the black female
body.
Looking/Seeing/Being/Disappearing,
choreographed and performed by Nadine Joseph, explores the representation of
the 'disappearing woman' in contemporary South Africa.
THE FILM FESTIVAL complements the Solo programme with a
series of films about female political activists. Supported by the Embassy of
Russia, it also marks the 10th anniversary of Russian Television with a number
of documentaries produced by leading journalists. The voices of women as well
as those of the LGBT community and the youth have been crucial in helping to
secure rights for South Africans – and this year, the 40th anniversary of the
Soweto Uprising – we celebrate that contribution to our freedom.
THINK!FEST, a programme of lectures and debates that runs
for the duration of the Festival, includes a focus on parallels between the
1976 uprisings and the #FeesMustFall movement.
STANDARD BANK YOUNG ARTIST AWARDS, The National Arts
Festival’s support of the regenerative and catalytic energy of the youth is
represented by these awards with this year’s winners taking on issues around
identity, representation and change. Dance winner Themba Mbuli is partnering
with the Unmute Dance Company to present Sold!,
a theatrical reclamation of historical identity through conversation in the
present. The work of Mohau Modisakeng, winner for Visual Arts, engages with
questions of history, body and place within a post-apartheid society, while
Theatre winner Jade Bowers is due to present her daring interpretation of Scorched, exploring the nuances of
identity and difference, way beyond the simple black-white binary of our
apartheid past.
Racial, cultural, sexual and historical identity are also
examined in photographer Zanele Muholi's Somnyama
Ngonyama (‘Hail, the Dark Lioness’), which confronts the politics of race
and pigment in the photographic archive, while Drama for Life's Afri-Queer intimately engages with
the lives of gay men.
An exploration of national and personal identity is at the
heart of Janni Younge’s reimagining of Stravinsky's much-loved ballet, The Firebird. By using contemporary
choreography and giant puppets together with the thematic and narrative
structure of the original, Younge is able to find free and powerful expression.
The National Arts Festival’s location in the heartland of
the Eastern Cape also gives the event a distinct flavour and focus. This year,
it will honour Fort Hare University's 100th anniversary by featuring two
productions centred on literary icon, Can Themba (a Fort Hare alumnus): Crepuscule, a fictional take on the love
affair between Themba and Jean Hart in 1950's Sophiatown; and the biographical The House of Truth, with acclaimed actor
Sello Maake kaNcube.
THE GALA CONCERT this year will be presented by the Eastern
Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Richard Cock. Violinist Avigail
Bushakevitz, this year’s Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, will perform
with the orchestra at the Sunday afternoon concert.
The EASTERN CAPE ENSEMBLE programme will feature
performances by indigenous music and jazz groups from across the province. In African Piano, New York-based South
African pianist Kathleen Tagg will take the audience through works for piano by
African classical composers and those deeply influenced by the music of central
Africa to arrangements of music as diverse as Zimbabwean mbira music, Malian
kora songs and original compositions.
ARENA PROGRAMME: Previous winners of Standard Bank Ovation
Awards, which reward Fringe productions for innovation and creative excellence,
have been invited to participate in the programme. Presented by Business and
Arts South Africa, this award-winners’ playground includes productions spanning
theatre (Denise Newman’s As ever, Bessie;
Tony Miyambo’s Secret Ballot; A
Conspiracy of Clowns’ The Heart’s Hotel),
music (Josie Field and Laurie Levine, Asanda Mqiki, Ottoman Slap and Umle) as
well as dance and physical theatre (Chaeli Campaign’s No Fun ction alL anguage [SUBS: CORR] and Masidlale Productions’ Kochira こちら).
Two international productions from the 2015 Amsterdam Fringe
will round off the Arena programme, travelling to Grahamstown as part of an
ongoing partnership between the two events: Barrera,
in which two clowns despair the loss of their closest friend, and The Futurists, an experimental musical
journey unlike anything you’ve ever heard.
Deepening international collaboration sees Kabosh, a theatre
company from Northern Ireland, presenting the South African premiere of the
emotionally charged Those You Pass in the
Street, which interrogates reconciliation through integration of the
personal with the political.
The National Arts Festival continues to strengthen its
relationship with South America, bringing exciting new acts: Uruguayan musician
Mateo Mera and Colombian vallenato grassroots artist Alvaro Meza. An Afro-Latin
vibe will be carried through by Ladies of the Midnight Blue, a duo passionate
about social equality and change.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Festival's
collaboration with the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS). The anniversary
will be highlighted with IFAS's support across a number of productions, such as
Les Cenci, an intermedial performance
that explores mental illness, violence and theatrical cruelty through the life
of French poet, essayist, actor and theatre director Antoine Marie Joseph
Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud; and Songs
Without Words From Three Generations, a piano recital by Ammiel
Bushakevitz.
THE STANDARD BANK JAZZ FESTIVAL offers a selection of some
of the hottest sounds, including vocalist Siya Makuzeni, this year’s Standard
Bank Young Artist Award winner for Jazz, who will lead a stellar ensemble of
young South African musicians. Also on the programme are headliners Ringo
Madlingozi and Caiphus Semenya, as well as bands and artists from Brazil, the
Netherlands, the UK, France, Sweden and Austria.
NATIONAL LOTTERY FRINGE: Festival-goers can look forward to
a diverse and engaging Fringe programme. Subsidised by the National Lottery,
there are more than 360 productions headed to town. With 115 productions,
theatre is the mainstay of the, followed by dance and physical theatre (59),
comedy (56 productions), visual art (42 exhibitions), music (37 acts) and
cabaret (20). There’s also family fare and a bunch of illusionists to make sure
that South Africa’s favourite open-access platform offers something for
everyone.
MAKE THIS THE YEAR
“This year's National Arts Festival takes place at a
fascinating time in our country's history and growth,” said Tony Lankester, the
Festival’s chief executive. “On our stages, you’ll find insightful, cutting
commentary on life in South Africa, reflecting the anger, pride, defiance,
determination and hope of an emerging generation of artists.
“These are conversations all South Africans should be part
of. If you’ve ever thought of coming to Grahamstown, this is the year to do it.
More than ever the voices of our artists deserve to be heard and engaged with,
so why not make this the year?”
Ismail Mahomed, who has been at the artistic helm of the
National Arts Festival for the past nine years, has announced that this year’s
Festival would be his last. “I believe this to be the best job in the South
African arts sector, but it needs constant refreshing, and the Festival will benefit
from the energy and focus that a new Artistic Director will bring,” he said.
Mahomed said his focus had been firmly on delivering another
inspiring and varied programme in 2016, but an announcement about his future
plans would be made in due course.
Lankester acknowledged the contribution Mahomed had made to
the Festival during his tenure as Artistic Director. “He has made a significant
impact on the event as well as on the national conversation about the arts”,
Lankester said, “We’ll talk more about his influence in the weeks to come as we
find ways to thank him for his hard work and passion.”
Booking for the 2016 National Arts Festival opens on May 9 via
www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
The National Arts Festival is grateful to: the National
Lottery Commission, the Department of Arts and Culture, Eastern Cape Provincial
Government, and Standard Bank of South Africa.
PROGRAMME: Printed copies of the Festival programme will be
available at selected Standard Bank and Exclusive Books branches. The full
programme will be online from early May at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
The programme and further useful information about the Festival is also
available on a user-friendly app available for IOS and Android; National Arts
Festival.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
The programme comprises drama, dance, physical theatre, comedy,
opera, music, jazz, visual art exhibitions, film, student theatre, street
theatre, lectures, craft fair, workshops, tours (of the city and surrounding
historic places) as well as a children’s arts festival.
ABOUT THE MAIN PROGRAMME
A committee of experts in various disciplines selects the
content of the Main programme. Work from both within and outside South Africa
is considered, with the following criteria in mind: the artistic merits of any
submission; the creation of a varied and balanced programme; and the costs
involved
NB: To link directly
to the National Arts Festival website, click on the banner ad at the top of
this page.