(An aerial view of the city of Grahamstown)
Fringe festivals – the playground of the
independent, cutting edge artist – continue to be a vital force in global arts,
as evidenced by the massive crowds drawn annually to international fringe
festivals in Edinburgh, Adelaide, New York and Brighton.
In South Africa, the well-established
National Arts Festival’s Fringe is a unique open access platform, giving all
artists the opportunity to perform, network, collaborate, share and learn. As
the only African members of the World Fringe Alliance, the National Arts
Festival - and its sister event in Cape Town - continue to stimulate the local
ecosystem of audience, opportunities, and exposure to talent hunters from
around the world.
Unsolicited and uncurated, the 2018
National Arts Festival Fringe is yet again a vivid gathering of fierce,
fearless, funny, charming, daring, warm and imaginative works. With shows
costing from as little as R20 to around R100 per ticket, it’s quite possible for
Festival-goers to see more than one show a day. Here’s a sample of the shows
one can expect at the Fringe this year taking place from June 28 to July 8,
2018:
A
snapshot of the Theatre programme
New shows will accompany returning
successes. Mike van Graan’s Land Acts,
starring Daniel Mpilo Richards, takes a satirical look at SA’s hottest topic.
Van Graan’s play Green Man Flashing,
a fast-paced political thriller will also be on the bill along with When Swallows Cry, directed by Lesedi
Job.
Cape Town Fringe Fresh Award winner, Tswalo will be coming to Grahamstown. A
mesmerising piece directed by Mahlatsi Mokgonyana and performed by Billy Langa,
it’s not to be missed.
The Artscape Theatre Centre brings family
drama Imbewu to the Festival, as well
as Night And Day which will be
directed by Khayalethu Anthony. Chris Weare will direct the South African
classic The Island, a play written
and conceived by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona about two
prisoners on Robben Island as the one faces extended jail time and the other
his imminent release.
2017 Standard Bank Ovation Award winner The Devil And Billy Markham returns in
2018 with the Faustian tale masterfully delivered by James Cairns who stars in
three other productions presented by Contagious Theatre. El Blanco will do its final year at the Festival and Cairns will
also appear in his comedy show James
Cairns Against Humanity and together with a cast for a stage production of
Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea.
The Edge presents Selwyn And Gabriel by Richard Kaplan (who also wrote The Finklesteins Are Coming To Dinner),
starring Kai Luke Brummer and Mbulelo Oliphant and directed by Tara Notcutt,
it’s a magical modern mystery about two strangers with secrets. J Bobs Live - Off The Record is also
on the menu at The Edge – a game show theatre experience hosted by the
inimitable Jefferson Bobs Tshabalala.
Former Standard Bank Young Artist for
Theatre (2016) Jade Bowers, presents Black,
a family story about identity and race, starring Ameera Patel. Bower’s new work
Jungfrau debuts on the Main Programme
this year.
The issues of South African society are
reflected back both personally and broadly through a number of works that put
societal hotspots under the microscope. In Shattered
Dreams, the Abangani Theatre Group turns the spotlight on women and child
abuse in a play directed by Jullian Seleke-Mokoto.
Skinned, directed by Siphesihle Ndaba, debuted at Rhodes Drama Department’s
Rising Artists Programme in 2017 and looks at black female joy in a
marginalised South African context.
Having earned multiple awards, including a
Standard Bank Ovation Award in 2016, You
Suck And Other Inescapable Truths, Klara van Wyk’s cleverly humorous
commentary on teenage social anxiety and bullying, will return to the Festival
for the final time this year.
For some wry social commentary,
award-winning playwright Juliet Jenkins brings Woolworths to this year’s Fringe. Described as a dark, mesmerising
and hilarious satire on middle-class South Africa, it charges through
trellidors, security estates, rhino charities, gold mines, shopping malls,
rugby stadiums, game farms and bank queues!
A
dip into the Dance programme
The Fringe Dance programme reflects a
tenacious and passionate dance sector showcasing works like Flatfoot Dance
Company’s Down To The Marrow, the
National School of the Arts’ production Dance
Spectrum, and the return of Festival favourites, the Cape Academy of
Performing Art (CAPA) in Ellipsis.
Traditional dance, costumes, jewellery and
indigenous music is highlighted by the Mvada Traditional Dancers in The Beauty Of Africa, the Tonlongozi
Traditional Dance Company in Umxhentso
Wamamfengu and the Chris Hani District Youth Ensemble.
Rhythm
Of Makhanda is Via Kasi Movers Theatre Company’s
loose adaptation of the book The Return
to Makhanda which tells the story of the Battle of Grahamstown between the
amaXhosa and British soldiers in 1819, the piece features artists local to the
area.
A deep reflection on the Syrian war and its
stories of horrific suffering and violence sees director/performer Kristi-Leigh
Grasse’s Sullied take a look at rape
culture and a world immune to violence asking what we can do about this body
politic. The cast includes Lebogang Muludi and Okuhle Danti.
A
quick peek at Comedy
Always a big feature of the Fringe, the
comedy line-up for 2018 doesn’t disappoint.
Trevor Noah’s special correspondent in SA,
Loyiso Madinga, will be doing a solo show, Tats Nkonzo brings back Standard
Bank Ovation winner (2017) Privileged
and Aaron McIlroy is in a new show ADHD.
Followspot brings a crop of entertaining
works such as Alchemy Of Rock and Caliente as well as the final instalment
of the Big Boys series.
Lazolo Gola, brother of Loyiso, has
appeared on Comedy Central and SABC 2’s The
Bantu Hour and will be doing Lazola
Gola Live. SA Comics Choice award winner, the deadpan Phil de Lange, will
perform The Phil Spectrum and laser
sharp comedian Angel Campey is in Devil’s
Advocate. Both are directed by Tara Notcutt. Nik Rabinovitz is also coming
to Grahamstown with Dry White.
Siv Ngesi presents a host of comedians at
the Drill Hall including Stuart Taylor’s The
Last Laugh and Rob van Vuuren’s new comedic work, Again! directed by Alan Committee. Schalk Bezuidenhout will be in Jersey Boy and teams up with Loyiso
Madinga for Broken English. Greg
Homan’s adaptation of Aida Aida Abridged
is bound to bring down the house with just two cast members taking on all the
roles.
A
trip into Performance Art and Physical Theatre
Kid
Casino starring Roberto Pombo and Joni Barnard
returns to the Fringe for another dazzling round of performances of this
glitter and bling play with a dark story about gambling addiction and child
neglect.
Dikapa by Generation of Stars was a Standard Bank Ovation Award winner in
2017 and also featured at the Market Theatre’s Zwakala Festival.
In Lebitso,
a young man, suffocated by his societal norms and expectations, breaks out
against the system and sets off on a journey to discover the meaning of his
name. Lebitso is the result of a
collaboration between AFDA Johannesburg and Østfold University College /
Norwegian Theater Academy.
Market Theatre Laboratory’s second year
students’ production 21 Wandah! asks
what life will be like when you reach 21 or whether you’ve lived your best
since turning 21. The play takes the form of a game show with 21 lucky
contestants.
Boundary breaking performance artist Gavin
Krastin will present Yet To Be Determined,
a meditation on irrevocable change and Schattenboxer
‘shadow boxer’ is a provocative story of a young black South African who
relocates to Europe. In a foreign land populated by a white majority, he starts
questioning his very existence and heritage featuring Skhumbuzo Dlamini, Mandla
Zondi, Thobani Ndlovu and Gcina Mdluli.
Illusion
abounds
The magician masters are coming to town.
Brendan Peel, Greg Gelb, Stuart Lightbody and Andrew Klazinga will all have a
few tricks up their sleeves.
Music
on the menu
The eclectic music programme on the Fringe
means there really is something for everyone. From Grahamstown’s own Celtic
folk outfit Scotty And The Terriers to St Paul’s Gospel Choir, a top sepostola
(clap and tap) choir from Khayelitsha in Cape Town.
Also from Cape Town comes Hatchetman, a
folksy, blues band that always gets the crowd rocking. The ever popular,
energetic musical game show Live Jukebox
will be plenty of fun for the adults – and its counterpart Jukebox Junior debuts in 2018 on the Children’s Programme
Bam
Bam Brown aka Kieron Brown returns from his travels
to bring his zany mix of sounds and characters to Grahamstown audiences and Mbuso
Khoza and the KZN Heritage Ensemble showcase amahumbo; the 18th and 19th
Century music of the Nguni people.
The Albany Club will play host to Pitch And Play, where musicians are
invited to promote or jam on the open mic sessions while the audience enjoys a
relaxed atmosphere and pub food.
Mmusi Morekhure returns from performing
everywhere from Monaco to Brazil with Tenor
In Concert. His repertoire includes everything from classical pieces to
Jacques Brel.
Siki Jo-An fuses African soul with operatic
jazz in Opera Meets Jazz and Nick
Wilcox sings a range of popular classics and contemporary pieces in One Tall Tenor Making Music
Smile Music presents the tribute piece Dear
Oliver Tambo, a musical story about a young girl obsessed with knowing
everything about Oliver Tambo and how he used his charisma for change. With
songs in tribute to Tambo, Albertina Sisulu and Nelson Mandela among others.
Children’s
theatre to delight young audiences
The Children Theatre programme on the
Fringe is packed with favourites like the National Arts Festival’s very own
production of The Gruffalo. Escape
into the world of Roald Dahl as a young boy with Taking Flight and enjoy Rob
van Vuuren and Dani Bischoff’s new children’s show Florence and Watson and The Great Pangolin Mystery.
The Cloud Catcher is the story of a girl
who thinks differently written and directed by Richard Antrobus, while Tales My Cat Told Me will keep even the
very young spellbound.
Well Worn Theatre’s Galela tells the story of three young children who try and solve
the town’s drinking water problems only to discover something more murky under
the surface. Directed by Thembela Madliki. the play is a study of the bravery
and imagination of children.
Families can also catch a free storytime
reading at NELM (National English Literature Museum) at 11h30 daily from June 29
to July 6. The stories will be read by artists from the National Arts Festival.
Standard
Bank Ovation Awards
Throughout the Fringe Festival, members of
the Standard Bank Ovation Awards panel anonymously review shows for award
nominations. These nominations are announced throughout the Festival. The
winners are announced at the end of the Festival in an award ceremony. Standard
Bank Ovation Award winners are considered for the Arena programme for future
National Arts Festivals and are also noted by theatres across the country.
For a look at the complete National Arts
Festival programme, see https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
(To
link direct to the NAF site click on the large banner that runs across the top
of this blog)
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