(Khayakazi
Madlala & Phenye Modiane who will appear in “La Bohème”)
For Women’s Month in August, The Playhouse Company
will present its famed South African Women’s Arts Festival (SAWAF).
Marking the Company’s 21st Festival, the event is
themed “Phenomenal Woman” to commemorate South African women in all aspects of
life – in the arts and on live on stage; in the communities and in the
workplace.
The not to be missed two-week festival – which runs
from August 10 to 19 - features a host of award-winning dramas, like the Naledi
Award winning productions Suddenly The
Storm and Scorched. Also on the
programme are La Bohème (semi-staged excerpts) and Handbag - Don’t clutch me
too tight… a brand-new dance work presented by The Playhouse Company under
the helm of acclaimed choreographer David Gouldie.
Under the theme “Phenomenal Woman” a range of free
dialogues and workshops will be held in honour of South Africa’s women and
their unique contributions to communities. Free live music sets –featuring the
likes of Platform Jazz, Natalie Rungan, Heels Over Head, Luh Dlamini and more
are also on the programme.
“Our South African Women’s Arts Festival has grown
tremendously over the years and as we commemorate our 21st year – traditionally
a year synonymous with entering maturity – we’re happy to be offering a
programme which aims to address the gravitas of women’s issues. We will do this
through a range of dialogues and offerings on our arts programme which speak to
various issues relevant to women today. We also are celebrating women of South
Africa through an artistic programme which offers an eclectic mix of
award-winning drama, dance, music and more!” says Playhouse CEO and Artistic
Director, Linda Bukhosini.
The South African Women’s Arts Festival (SAWAF)
programme is as follows:
SUDDENLY THE STORM:
Paul Slabolepszy’s latest play, walked off with
Best New South African Script (Paul Slabolepszy), Best Theatre Set Design
(Durban’s Greg King) and Best Lighting Design (Wesley France) awards this
year’s Naledi Theatre Awards.
Following its unprecedented success at the Market
Theatre and the Theatre on the Square, this riveting drama ran at the Baxter
Theatre in Cape Town in July. The Playhouse Company presents Suddenly the Storm as part of its SA
Women’s Arts Festival.
Suddenly the
Storm premièred at the Market Theatre in 2016, launched to coincide with the
40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising of 1976. The play is set in the far
East Rand, in the home of an ageing ex-cop and his much younger wife. A storm
approaches … Namhla Gumede, born on June 16, 1976 arrives, seeking answers to
questions that have remained buried for 40 long years. What begins as a
smouldering dark comedy turns suddenly into a roller-coaster ride of startling
revelations, of rage and recrimination, before the storm finally breaks.
Starring Paul Slabolepszy, Charmaine Weir-Smith (Isidingo, Binnelanders, Generations) and
Renate Stuurman (Isidingo, Scandal!),
and directed by Bobby Heaney.
Suddenly the
Storm will be staged in The Loft Theatre on August 10 and 11 at 19h30, and on
August 12 at 14h00 and 19h30. Tickets R80 booked via Computicket or Shoprite
Checkers at each. There is an age restriction of 18 (strong language).
HANDBAG - DON’T CLUTCH ME TOO TIGHT…
Under the helm of critically acclaimed
choreographer, David Gouldie, The Playhouse Company presents a brand-new dance
work, Handbag - Don’t clutch me too
tight…
Featuring the award-winning Playhouse Dance
Residency and Flatfoot Dance Company, the production is based on the real-life
tales of the ladies who live at The Association For The Aged (TAFTA).
The work is based around interviews and moments of
the elderly ladies. Moments of joy, loss and remembrance will be explored and
celebrated with the dancers using these stories and emotions for the basis of
this dance work.
A first kiss, marriage, loss, forgiveness… The work
will follow the linear narratives of these intimate stories to ultimately speak
to overall global issues.
The dance work will pay tribute to these incredible
women and their stories, and provides a creative space for enlightenment around
issues affecting the elderly and their life experience.
Handbag - Don’t
clutch me to tight… has performances in the Drama Theatre on August 10
at 09h30, August 11 at 09h30 and19h00; and August 12 at 14h00. Tickets R80 booked
via Computicket.
Schools
performances at R30 per learner can be booked by calling 031 369 9407.
OUR STORY MAGIC:
Our Story Magic is
popular children’s work written by acclaimed author/poet/storyteller Gcina
Mhlophe and has now been adapted for stage by The Playhouse Actors Studio!
This collection offers an opportunity to explore
folklore stories through a theatre piece suitable for the whole family.
The stories in the book are: Sun and the Moon, Brave Ox Bathom, Queen Of The Tortoise, Tie Me Up!,
Moonlight Magic, Dad is Eating Ashes, Mamba kaMaqhuba, The Signing Dog,
Jojela’s Wooden Spoon and Sunset
Colours.
Presented in English, isiZulu, seTswana, Our Story
Magic offers children the opportunity to experience the power of imagination
and live theatre beyond the cellphone, TV, and – dare we say it – the fidget
spinner! More importantly it shows children the value of our original and
authentic cultures through tales based on our own communities.
The production will stage for schools on 19 August
at 10h30 and 14h30. Tickets R30 via Computicket.
SCORCHED:
Scorched
walked off with three Naledi Theatre Awards this year: Best Director of a Play
(Jade Bowers), Best Lead Performance in a Play: Female (Ilse Klink) and Best
Supporting Actress (Ameera Patel)
Bowers is the 2016 Standard Bank Young Artist for
Theatre. Scorched premiered on the
main programme at the 2016 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown to high
critical acclaim, and went on to a season at UJ Arts Centre in Johannesburg.
KZN audiences will have the opportunity to experience this acclaimed production
from August 16 to 19 in the Playhouse Drama Theatre.
Scorched is an
epic yet intimate family drama by acclaimed Lebanese-Canadian playwright Wajdi
Mouawad. The play follows twins Janine and Simon Marwan on a riveting journey
to the heart of their mother's war-torn Middle-Eastern homeland in pursuit of
their tangled roots and a long-lost sibling. In this land, where civil war,
massacre and revenge constitute a way of life, the twins uncover shocking
secrets about their mother's history, about themselves and their origins.
The production is directed by Jade Bowers. The
all-star cast features Cherae Halley, Jaques De Silva Mpho Osei-Tutu, Bronwyn
van Graan, Ameera Patel, Gopala Davies and Ilse Klink.
Public performances take place on August 18 at
19h30 as well as on August 19 at 14h30 and 19h30. Tickets R80 booked via Computicket
or Shoprite Checkers. There is an age restriction of PG13
Schools’
performances are on at 10h00 on August 16, 17 and 18. Schools performances, at
R30 per learner, can be booked by calling 031 369 9407.
GIACOMO PUCCINI’S LA BOHÈME (SEMI-STAGED EXCERPTS):
La Bohème is an
opera in four acts composed by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi
Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes
de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger. The world premiere performance of La Bohème was in Turin on February 1, 1896
at the Teatro Regio. Since then, La
Bohème has become part of the standard Italian opera repertory and is one
of the most frequently performed operas worldwide.
The Playhouse Company presents semi-staged excerpts
of this renowned opera featuring the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra and Clermont
Choir, under the helm of Director Marcus Desando. Featuring soloists Khayakazi
Madlala, Phenye Modiane and Siphokazi Maphumulo.
La Bohème
stages on August 10 at 19h30 and August 12 at 15h00. Tickets from R100 to R150
at Computicket.
DIALOGUE SESSIONS:
Key dialogue sessions have been planned during the
course of the festival which will see women from across age and cultural groups
come together to engage and share their stories. One such dialogue will focus
on younger women who are forging paths in their communities and who act as role
models to their peers. Another, more health-focused discussion will see the
audience interact with leading female health practitioners on matters of
holistic health of the mind and body.
FREE SUNDOWNERS CONCERTS:
Sundowners Concerts featuring
phenomenal South African artists, including some of KZN’s finest female musos
who are making strides in the industry. Platform Jazz, Ndu Shezi, Heels Over
Head, Natalie Rungan, Luh Dlamini and more are just a few of the acts who’ll be
setting the stage on fire!
Platform Jazz performs on 10 August at 18h00, Ndu
Shezi & Heels Over Head perform on August 11 at 17h00; Dawn King performs
on 12 August at 15h30; Dani Foster Trio performs on August 12 at 18h15. The
following week catch Natalie Rungan on August 18 at 17h00 and Luh Dlamini and
Joel Zuma on August 19 at 17h00.
For further information, contact Latoya Goldstone
on 031 369 9466 or via e-mail on Commscord@playhousecompany.com
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