The ensemble wih the love-struck couple (Scarlett Pay and Dylan Janse van Rensburg) in the front.
REVIEW BY DIANE DE BEER
Pictures: Claude Barnardo
SPRING AWAKENING
Based on the play by Frank Wedekind
Books and lyrics: Steven Sater
Music by: Duncan Sheik
Featuring: Dylan Janse van Rensburg, Scarlett Pay and Jonathan Conrad with Gemma Bisseker, Killian Blerk, Jude Bunyan, Tatum Grace Coleman, Jayden Dickson, Noa Duckitt, Skye Themeda Goss, Ché-Jean Jupp, Gabriella Knight, Jasmine Minter, Tumelo Mogashoa, Hannah Norcott, Nandipa Nyivana, Benjamin Stannard, Tjaart van der Walt, Gerhard van Rooyen (graduates and under-graduates) and playing the two adults, also former students of LAMTA (The Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy), Francis Chouler and Natalie Robbie
PRODUCERS: Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander
LIGHTING, SCENIC AND COSTUME DESIGN: Niall Griffin
SOUND DESIGN: David Classen
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND ASSISTANT MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Anton Luitingh
CHOREOGRAPHIC SUPERVISOR: Duane Alexander
VOCAL DESIGNER: Annemari Milazzo
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Amy Campbell
CHOREOGRAPHY: Anna Olivier and Naoline Quinzin
STAGE MANAGER: Sarah Wolhuter
DIRECTOR: Sylvaine Strike
VENUE: Pieter Toerien Theatre, Montecasino
DATES: May 5
Spring Awakening a production for current times.
Perhaps Spring Awakening is the reason Sylvaine Strike is only now directing her first musical. It was destined to happen with this particular show – and she does it magnificently.
If anyone was up to this specific task, she was. Even more than I knew, because I was unaware of her teaching responsibilities at LAMTA, Luitingh and Alexander’s Musical Theatre Academy in Cape Town that invited Strike to direct.
In her programme notes, she explains that her students understood her approach “tackling the very controversial themes – from a physical rather than a psychological perspective – possible, and ensuring that the sexuality, heartache, and rebellion we activated during the rehearsal process always came first and foremost from the body. This was apt seeing that the impulses of adolescence also spring from this turmoiled yet effervescent well. Whether we explored the private agony of self-consciousness; the damage of self-doubt; the wreckage of hormones on both mind and soul; the pain of parents’ inability to accept a child as they are; or the blossoms of sexuality growing their gentle tendrils of yearning and fantasy throughout adolescence …”
Much of the magic is in the movement.
Her mantra was to seek a physical way to manifest these feelings and to create the characters from that specific place.
And even though I didn’t know any of this before watching this production, it was the movement and the choreography that grabbed and gripped me throughout. It was so clever and crafty to use this in both solo and ensemble numbers and even with the very specific movements of the two adults to exactly capture their strictly restrained and fastidiously maintained lives.
I kept wondering who the choreographers were, as they who would have been completely aligned with Strike’s vision because of her very detailed rehearsal process. Not surprisingly, but also with kudos to the producers and director, they picked two of their talented graduates Olivier and Quinzin, who did an amazing job both incorporating and executing their work to perfection. It adds currency and electricity to the performances that translate masterfully.
But that was just the start of the cohesion of the whole. Again the programme notes capture it best when explaining the electrifying adaptation of Wedekind’s Spring Awakening into a contemporary rock musical, which Strike rightly salutes as the key to the current success of the piece. She is convinced (and I agree) that the sheer brilliance of Steven Sater’s lyrics and Duncan Sheik’s music makes the return of this classic possible and heightens the relevance of the themes as long as there are adolescents in this world.
To pull it off though, it needed the razor-sharp vision of Strike, her pinpoint accuracy in the detail and, more than anything, the artists she surrounds herself with, assigning them to their specific fields of expertise. Even though she and designer Griffin had never worked together, she trusted her instincts and tasked him with all three design elements: lighting, costume and set, all of which establish the feel and the atmosphere of where and how the story unfolds.
It’s brilliant. From the set that transforms with only a few movable parts to the costumes that speak volumes in their simplicity but also carry an underlying theme, as he experimented with the authenticity of the fabric, to the lighting that enhanced what he had already established with the set and the costumes.
All of this would have been superfluous without the right cast. It starts with their youthfulness. Undergraduates and graduates of LAMTA, most were already familiar with the director’s ethos, and it shows. Performances are spectacular and some of the solo moments quite breathtaking.
Spectacular singing with individual tones from Johnathan Conrad and Dylan Janse van Rensburg.
There’s too much to take in and remember in one sitting, but the performer I couldn’t turn away from was the unusual Johnathan Conrad. It needed someone like Strike to cast correctly, but it was as if the theatre gods had handed her a mini Mick Jagger in looks and talent. As the overwrought and picked-upon Moritz Stiefel, his every move, the singing and the presence never faltered – a wonderful foil in a complex production.
The love-struck Scarlett Pay (as Wendla Bergman) and Dylan Janse van Rensburg (Melchior Gabor) are radiant as the couple who cannot resist one another, and their singing captures their hearts’ desires magnificently. Another standout was the luminous Noa Duckitt as Ilse Neuman.
Two standout performances from Noa Duckitt as Ilse and Johnathan Conrad as Moritz Stiefel.
The music holds the show and the singing had to soar for the show to come alive. Again, musical director Amy Campbell teaches at LAMTA and wisely she was in charge and harnessed all her skills to get this working perfectly. More than anything it is the individuality of the different singers surrounded by the more gentle ensemble singing (more often than not) that rocks this one.
Finally it is Strike who pulled it all together. You can have all the talent in the world, but if the story isn’t told with one voice, it has diminishing impact.
Strike doesn’t miss a beat. She has gathered artists young and old around her to tell this striking story that affects us all at some stage in life in the best way she knows how. It has purpose, it holds you in awe from beginning to end, and you are engaged in and enraged with these youngsters as they fight for their right to live their way.
Niall Griffin dying the costumes wearing protective gear.
When Niall Griffin was invited to take on most of the design elements (set, costumes and lighting) for the Sylvaine Strike-directed Spring Awakening, he was nervous going into the process because living up to the expectations of a legend can be daunting. He tells DIANE DE BEER about the experience, which he describes as the highlight of his career:
Spring Awakening, presented by Cape Town’s Luitingh Alexander Musical Theatre Academy (LAMTA) as their first book musical, also marks the first time that Sylvaine Strike has directed a musical.
Based on the controversial play that was written in the late 1800s by Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening delves into the lives of a group of adolescent students discovering their changing bodies, their sexual identities, urges and desires, all while navigating the oppressive and draconian societal norms of the day.
Under Strike’s visionary direction, this reimagined production (with a very young cast) brings the gripping and emotional story to life as it explores complex themes such as self-discovery, repression and the power of rebellion.
Niall Griffin, a designer with a mission.
And while there was initial anxiety, once the work began, Griffin knew instantly that he was on safe ground. “The care, respect, trust and sense of magical play that Sylvaine instilled in our journey together are unmatched in my career. I think we both felt an immediate understanding of each other and were both amazed at how perfectly our style and ethos merged,” he says.
“We care immensely for our process, our casts, our team and our audiences, sometimes to our detriment, but finding someone with that same level of care has been one of the greatest gifts of my career.”
Being familiar with the level of detail Strike approaches when making a play, all of the above sounds like a match made in heaven.
The vibrant young cast in Spring Awakening
Accepting the challenge was a no-brainer for a designer who is also described as an industry legend. “There are musicals and then there are musicals. Some are light and frivolous and the perfect escapism and then some hit you harder in a place that truly moves you. Spring Awakening is the latter for me. The little rockstar hit that came out of left field to take Broadway by storm,” is how he describes it.
“It deals with things that we’ve all been through or are going through, both good and bad. All too often, in this day and age, we are driven into false beliefs and horrific mental health issues because we carry such shame from our experiences. The show, as heartbreaking as the story is, leaves one with love, compassion and a sense of togetherness. The human condition is not singular. We are not alone. We all need a little more love in our lives… and who doesn’t love a bit of Victorian-era deliciousness?”
Describing the process, he explains that what began as an exercise in replicating period fabric developed into an exploration on how possible it was to create an entire show from natural fibre. “Our planet has rapidly become saturated with ‘the synthetic’ and I believed this show needed authenticity in every aspect if it was to have the impact it deserved.
“The entirety of the show’s design is manufactured from purely natural fibre. Costumes began as neutral cotton that were dyed with natural dyes. The set is sustainably sourced wood and hessian made from vegetable fibre. It has been an incredibly educational and rewarding process.”
It is that process that piqued my interest, especially when basically the whole look depends on the outcome. Griffin understood that taking on the full production design across set, costume and lighting was a huge undertaking and not for the faint hearted.
“My driving force is to find a seamless synergy between all departments. What I term ‘one organism’. While taking on full production design is huge, it does make knitting a visual together far easier. Even though this show was Sylvaine’s and my ‘maiden voyage’, it was clearly destined, as our sensibilities and aesthetics couldn’t be better matched.”
And there’s the key, something they obviously both understood. “Theatre design to me, at its core, is about designing emotional response. I needed to immerse myself in the emotional journey of the piece, the high and low tides, in order to find its design core,” he notes.
For him texture is far more than paint and dye. “I spent a long time with the score and libretto and, to quote the Gen Z’ers, ‘felt the feels’. This is how I approach the majority of my design work, from a place of emotional honesty. It’s about finding the heart of the piece.”
Describing his process in more detail, he began with the sets, followed by costumes and finally lighting:
“When it comes to scenic design, my favourite moments in theatre are when a space manages to completely morph its texture, feeling and setting without all the ‘big toys’ and flash. A threatening storm can become something else, in mere moments, with a shaft of light breaking through the clouds. I wanted the space to morph seamlessly so that the emotional flow wasn’t interrupted by a clunky scene change. Finding the balance between something that can feel both oppressive and beautiful was a challenge. Using exposed wood was a no-brainer for me. Wood is a material that carries its growth with it forever. Its rings and knots and imperfections are part of it. This felt poetic to me.”
When it came to costuming, he wanted to create a uniform that felt prescribed by an oppressive regime, “a regime trying to erase the individual and force uniformity. I felt this would underpin the narrative journey of our characters rebelling against the blind norm by illustrating how prescribed uniformity cannot erase the burning fire of the individual.
“Every costume, from head to toe, has been lovingly made from scratch. They are all individually hand dyed and aged, and this is where I started to sneak the individual into the uniforms by aging and breaking down each individual’s garments with their own personality. Some of this detail may not be evident to the audience, but it was important to me that the cast could experience their costumes in this way. I truly believe that what the cast feels in their costumes translates into their performances.”
Lighting delivers the final flourish. “Sometimes, at the speed a musical moves, the audience needs to understand an emotional shift quickly, and this is where lighting was vital to me. I wanted the world to feel murky and rich, like an oil painting come to life.”
If the successful runs in Cape Town are an indicator, this has all been achieved, as the visuals will attest.
And Griffin has his final say: “Making theatre, especially non-replica productions, in South Africa in the current climate is hard work. Creating an entire musical from scratch was a feat second to none. I have a team of remarkable artisans that I work closely with and whom I would be nothing without. They all share my level of delivery standards and they all jump into the deep end with my crazy ideas. A tribe second to none. I couldn’t be prouder of the product, and watching audiences experience it in Cape Town has filled me with so much joy.” * Performances run until 5 May 2024 at Pieter Toerien’s Theatre at Montecasino with shows from Wednesdays to Saturdays at 7:30pm and matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets cost from R200 through Webtickets. Please note that Spring Awakening contains mature themes, partial nudity, sexual situations as well as explicit language. No persons under 13.
Another Klein Karoo National Arts Festival has come and gone but what lingers are the artists, their originality, dedication, blood, sweat and tears and delight that they provide in a lopsided world which is difficult to navigate. DIANE DE BEER finds nourishment, inspiration and novelty in the imaginative and ingenious artistry of our creatives:
I have to be honest from the start. Festivals always have a strong emotional impact on me. I am in the fortunate position as an arts journalist to be invited to see as many productions as I can squeeze into the run of an event and at this year’s Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) there was still a post-Covid frisson with the festival at full strength for a second year.
When a festival goes into full swing, it can be quite daunting and I’m not sure whether I want to be there, but as excellent productions and artists climb into my head, I go into full festival mode where I’m simply thrilled at being overwhelmed by the local arts community.
Being an artist isn’t an easy profession, even if many on the outside feel that they had a choice and simply have to bite the bullet. That they have a choice is arguable and to produce excellence year after year, often with few rewards and never under ideal circumstances, can be daunting and not for the fainthearted.
And yet they go full tilt as they battle extreme circumstances like pandemics or vitriolic social media, all in the name of art.
More than anything, whatever anyone says, we cannot resist them. For me it is a huge blessing and privilege to witness and write about our uniquely original creatives.
Post-festival, an overview of the festival is always a personal reminder of and reflection on everything extraordinary, yet it’s tough to choose which among all those actors and productions, to highlight. There are simply too many that demand attention and especially this year, the scope was exceptional.
I always feel I want to bring something of the flavour of a particular festival to those who weren’t there. Perhaps one of my favourite pieces might pop up somewhere and a reader might be encouraged to go, or even more ideally, someone who has always thought about festivals but never attended might be encouraged to go.
The enchanted Die Swartmerrie withTheo Witbooi and Chantell Phillipus. Pictures: Ryan Dammert.
I have to start with Karoo Kaarte. It’s one of the dream projects of the KKNK, simply ticks all the boxes and grows more impressive every year since its first inception with special mention of last year’s winning production, Droomkrans Kronieke, which landed with such impact because of its energy and precision. How can you not win when developing the underdeveloped artistic talent of the previously disadvantaged by implementing a programme that empowers those who wish to make it in the arts.
It’s inspiring and this year’s production, Die Swartmerrie, is a site-specific piece set on dilapidated terrain with a set of train tracks, an imagined train, and a rundown platform. Two people, a man and a woman (Theo Witbooi and Chantell Phillipus) are waiting, both traveling but not with the same destination in mind. There is a past, the tracks and possible journey points to a future, but this notion disappears with the wind.
It is breathtakingly beautiful and hauntingly gripping as the two talk and tackle their issues with delicate determination.
Afrikaans is an especially emotive love language and when spoken in the specific Karoo accent, warm and intimate, the sounds are as captivating and meaningful as the actual words being spoken.
I was surprised by this couple alone on stage and also electrified that the team (in this instance Neil Coppen – a facilitator of the whole project with Vaughn Sadie – and Oudtshoorn’s Tiffany Saterdacht) decided to go this route but, of course, this is a company packed with the unexpected, and hopefully it is a production that will become an institution in Oudtshoorn and won’t be limited to the festival. You don’t want to miss out on these performances and such a quality production. They should keep pushing the repeat button and keep it as part of their arsenal.
Karoo Kaarte further packed a punch with itsart exhibitions, as well as walking tours done by young Oudtshoorn inhabitants all participating in turning the town’s current and future narrative into an inclusive one. The community is constantly gaining strength thanks to Coppen and Sadie who have invested their creativity in this wonderful way, all the while bringing their local learners on board.
It’s a marvellous investment in the future of this town (and hopefully others across the country will follow) and fingers crossed that a smart investor will see the potential going forward.
Because we were born in such large numbers, our generation is referred to as the baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) and probably that’s why ageing and the lifestyles of those growing older has become part of today’s theatre language. We are also fortunate to have some amazing artists who keep on practising their craft while ignoring any barriers that might come their way.
They know how to choose, break out and try new things and simply keep audiences flocking to their performances. Names like Sandra Prinsloo, Antoinette Kellermann, Jana Cilliers, Elzabe Zietsman, Amanda Strydom not only arrive with new productions, they’re also constantly adding skills to their resumés.
Cilliers took up playwrighting for the first time with Veelhoek, a two-hander with herself and Ludwig Binge directed by Marthinus Basson, and the wisdom and writing were quite overwhelming. Who would have thought that, apart from all her other accomplishments, she would now add writing to the list – and then perform it with such clarity as she tells a story that lies close to the heart?
Zietsman is another one who keeps shifting those barriers and I am so delighted that she has added the magnificent Tony Bentel to accompany her on stage. He is one of those pianists who brings much more than just the music to the performance and it shows. Vier Panado’s en ‘n Chardonnay again has Zietsman expounding on life, singing brilliantly and with heart – and cherishing cabaret as it should be performed. The content, which deals with resilience,needs hardly any acting by this actor. Most of it is probably her life which she has shared heartily and hastily over the years. And she will always rise…
Do we need to say anything more about those two great dames, Sandra Prinsloo and Antoinette Kellermann? How lucky are we to witness them in performance after performance as they just keep surging ahead.
Die stoele with Antoinette Kellermann and Chris van Niekerk. Picture: Hans van der Veen.
Kellermann tackled the Ionescu tour de force Die Stoele, accompanied by a much-too-rare performance by Chris van Niekerk. Marthinus Basson adds genius to the production, which can be seen over and over again as it deals with something we all have to confront – LIFE. The content might be terrifying but to watch, quite hysterical. As always Kellermann is in with everything she’s got and what she does with her body tells a story all its own.
Goed wat wag om te gebeur with an actress I would love to see more of, Emma Kotze and Gideon Lombard.
She’s also a part of the magnificent cast (Kellermann, Emma Kotze and Gideon Lombard) of Philip Rademeyer’s Goed Wat Wag Om te Gebeur. I had seen the English version most recently but also this one a few times, and this latest run proved how good theatre improves with time. It’s the best the production has been and I know the director agrees.
Prinsloo brought her masterful Master Class, a piece of classical theatre, to the festival and, also as is her nature, she teamed up with the exceptional David Viviers in a Teksmark original Op die hoek van Styx en River is Noraper Abuis met die Dood Oorgeslaan (playwright Henque Heymans). It’s a novel work which showed flickers of what it could be in time (always a scarce commodity).
Like Rademeyer’s Goed Wat Wag Om te Gebeur, Monsters, (produced, directed, adapted and translated by Tinarie van Wyk Loots) which has had runs at other festivals previously, found a remarkable rhythm that lifted the text and the performers into another realm . It was rewarding to experience and again I was reminded what a precious entity the different circuits are because single theatres cannot afford to take many risks and festivals add an extra buffer in this precarious world – to the benefit of arts audiences.
Michele Burgers in Monsters. Picture Stephanie M Gericke.
We haven’t seen much of the versatile Michele Burgers, who will hopefully return to stage more often in the future and who was beautifully supported by the talented René Cloete, Ntlanhla Kutu and Elton Landrew.
Die Vegetariër with Tinarie van Wyk Loots and Melissa Myburgh who as young actress has shown her mettle magnificently . Picture: Nardus Engelbrecht
Smartly directed by yet another multi-talented artist, Tinarie van Wyk Loots, she also featured in Jaco Bouwer’s hard-hitting Die Vegetariër (adapted and translated by Willem Anker) which also benefited from another run, as well as in the latest probing Anker text, Patmos, also brilliantly staged and directed by Jaco Bouwer, who always challenges and pushes boundaries with his choice of productions, casts and presentation.
The visually captivating Patmos with Melvyn Minnaar and Tinarie van Wyk Loots. Picturess Hans van der Veen.
Without these art warriors our art landscape would be barren. They keep us returning to theatres time and again with their unique approach, their determination to do their best under trying circumstances, including a lack of time and money, and simply their excellence.
Nataniël, for example, returned from an extensive tour to New Zealand and Australia during the festival yet put together one of his distinctive shows with flamboyant costumes, mind-blowing text and two musicians (Marcel Dednam on Piano and Leon Gropp on guitar) who created a spectacular rhythm to underpin his songs and singing quite magnificently.
I could go on forever, there were simply too many highlights, yet I cannot go without honourable mentions of the following, no less important than those already mentioned:
Jefferson J. Dirks-Korkee in a return of the soul-stretching Rooilug.
Fietsry vir dommies. Picture: Gys Loubser Hallo, is Bettie wat praat with Dean John Smith.
Marianne Thamm
Solo shows: the return of Rooilug with the delightful Jefferson J. Dirks-Korkee; Fietsry vir Dommies (masterful text by Tiffany Saterdacht and deftly directed by Dean Balie) which showcased the enormous talent of Eldon van der Merwe, who was also rewarded with a Kunste Onbeperk prize for Young Voice. Dean John Smit shone in his now full-length solo production of Hallo, is Bettie wat Praat; the craftily current My Fellow South Africans by Mike van Graan, starring the physically and mentally dextrous Kim Blanché Adonis; Vuisvoos, maar nog regop, where journalist Marianne Thamm delivers a gloves-off and much needed monologue, incisive if laugh-out-loud, on the state of the nation; a shout-out to much missed director, Jenine Collocott, who teamed with actor Klara van Wyk to present the hysterical Monika, it’s me:
The mesmerising ‘n Lewe in die dag van ‘n vrugtevlieg ensomeer with David Viviers and Wessel Pretorius. Picture: Hans van der Veen The Old Man Who Thought He Had a Dog with Merwe van Gent and Angelique Filter.
Double-up: David Viviers and Wessel Pretorius returned as a popular duo in a follow-up to their successful Klara Maas with ‘n Lewe in die die dag van ‘n vrugtevlieg, ensomeer and hopefully many more encores in the future, they were missed; an innovative new duo, Stellenbosch students Angelique Filter and Merwe van Gent, soared with the tragicomedy The Old Man who thought He had a Dog;
The delightfully funny Marc Lottering.KG Mokgadi- Weighing In.
Stand-up (not my speciality) yet: Who can resist the always energetic and enthusiastic funny man Marc Lottering who always delivers?; as well as my comic standout of the festival, KG Mokgadi. It feels as if these two have something more to say than just one-liners.
Ken Jy Vir Dewie with , Joshwin Dyson, Crystal Donna Roberts and Robert Hindley
Productions: The original Ken Jy Vir Dewie was cleverly staged with themes that target the whole family and as the play was dealing with bullying, the setting for everyone, actors and audience alike, was a classroom; and again, it was directed by yet another versatile artist, Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck, who has exchanged Dowwe Dolla for Ouma, again a sign of the times. She cleverly started the play outside with audience and cast waiting to enter the classroom!;
The joyous Braam en die engel with Rehane Abrahams, De Klerk Oelofse and Timothy Isaacs. Picture Hans van der Veen
And Craig Morris grabs the attention in Die Rooi Ballon.
Children’s Theatre: It’s not something I usually see at festivals but, as I did, I was encouraged by the effort made by the KKNK to look after these tiny tots who are of our more enthusiastic audiences: My favourites included Braam en die Engel and Rooi Boeties.Watch out for them as they might travel.
Dance: is back with brilliance because of the clever choice of productions, only two of them but with some of the most innovative names in contemporary dance: Dada Masilo who choreographed one of three pieces, Salomé, for Joburg Ballet; and Grant van Ster and Shaun Oelf with the Figure of 8 Dance Collective (pictured), who brought in other creatives like Nico Scheepers on text, Andi Colombo on lights and Franco Prinsloo on original music. Both companies were sublime.
Lucky Pakkie (Packet): Thanks to the brilliant team of Llandi Beeslaar and Stephanie Gericke, this is another of the KKNK delights because of their dedication and hands-on approach. It needs that because what you have is three lucky packets of four 15-minute productions each; the three sections embrace easy viewing to soft touch to pushing the envelope as much as possible, and artists who cannot manage a full production or perhaps just want to say what they need to say in this time and on this platform are vetted and included in a fun-filled programme.
The original Karli Heine. Picture by Stephanie M Gericke
There are too many to name, but for starters … what about Karli Heine, who turned herself into a pot plant and blew my mind … for script, performance and imagination!
It is impossible to cover everything and I haven’t given the art exhibitions a mention, even though curator Dineke Orton again broke down barriers and took us on a visual trip. But these are just some of my thoughts on a festival that felt like one joyous merry-go-round. Try and catch some of these through the year as they travel to different theatres and festivals.
Here’s holding thumbs!
And finally, on the last day, even the weather seemed out of sorts…
The luminous Sophie Joans in a solo performance of a play she has written.
Theatre review of ÎLE finishing this weekend at Sandton’s Theatre on the Square by DIANE DE BEER
PICTURES: PHILIP KUHN
ÎLE
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY: Sophie Joans
DIRECTED BY: Rob van Vuuren
DATES: Today at 7.30pm; tomorrow at 5pm and 8pm
When you’ve been around in the arts for as long as I have, it’s always an unexpected thrill to discover a new talent.
Solo performances are obviously a handy talent to have in your bag of tricks because of the precarious nature of theatre and the performing arts. If you have to rely solely on managements, festivals and directors to keep your career going, it could be disastrous – and tough on your anxiety levels.
With the ability to write and perform, you can create your own work, pack a bag and travel from stage to stage or whatever entertainment platform you prefer. If you have presence, which is something that’s difficult to explain, (you either have it or you don’t), it’s a gift that should be cherished.
Sophie Joans has all of the above and more. It’s a powerful package. She’s also obviously smart to not go it completely alone but to have the skilled Rob van Vuuren on board, someone who has made the stage his home, as director.
She bounces on stage bubbling with energy and enthusiasm and launches into a travelogue with Mauritius and her mother as the main destinations – and right from the start, she holds your attention with a smart and hilarious script. She taps into the ever-fraught relationship between mothers and daughters, where the one is wise if weatherbeaten and the other knows all the answers and doesn’t want to be prompted on how to proceed in life.
We all recognise family foibles in some fashion, but this is where the writing is witty and wise. Yes, it sounds hellish and many of us will think of our mothers and their lesser indiscretions with relief, but the way Joans reflects on and rants about her family is so cleverly charged, even when it dangerously skirts the edges, that there’s always something to hold onto as the younger Joans finds a way to explore her mother’s sometimes ferocious guidance.
It’s all about family narratives, the way mothers and daughters pass on a specific legacy that never seems to change. We all know how damage is done by those who have experienced that same pain themselves. We just have to look at the world we live in today to find all the examples needed.
While all of this might seem way too serious for someone who started in stand-up comedy, with some tweaking she has turned her sights to a more specific stage. Having just come from an arts festival, I know how exposed the stand-up stages can be, so she obviously knows how to handle a critical crowd.
This is something quite different. She presents Île as quite a personal story, enters the stage with very little but two large boxes which she moves around, and is aided by the best weapons: her words and her warmth.
She’s a storyteller, someone who holds her audience with confidence, and with a generosity and a gentle yet gregarious approach to her performance. She aims straight for the heart. If you can possibly make it in the time left over (it only runs till Saturday), Joans is a winner.
And I can’t wait to see where and how she goes from here. We’re a rather small theatre community, so when someone with such obvious performance genes hits all the right notes, it’s a time to celebrate and embrace.
She has travelled this play from small beginnings to world stages so obviously she has made a huge splash, but for me she’s the new kid on the block. And I could not be more delighted!
Thanks Daphne Kuhn (producer and artistic director of Theatre on the Square), your theatre smarts are always appreciated.
Mother (Charmaine Weir-Smith) and son (Nicholas Hattingh) in selfie mode…
DIANE DE BEER
EXPELLED
Expelled is described as a family drama which focuses on the largely ungoverned world of social media. Alex, a matric pupil at an elite school, gets caught up in a viral scandal and is suspended. Once shared, lives alter in seconds, what’s seen cannot be unseen. The ramifications for his family are profound.
Rosalind Butler’s new South African play
PRODUCERS: How Now Brown Cow Productions in association with The Market
DIRECTOR: Craig Freimond
CAST: Anthony Coleman, Charmaine Weir-Smith and Nicholas Hattingh
VENUE: Mannie Manim Theatre at the Market, Joburg
DATES: Until March 31. Performances will take place Wednesday to Saturday with evening shows at 7pm and matinees on Sunday and Saturday at 3pm. There will be additional schools’ performances at 11am on Thursdays during the run.
Living in an online world.
There are few people who won’t be aware of the devastation of social media on normal lives. We all know there’s the good and the bad but taking into account the recent banning by the US Senate of the Tik Tok app on government devices, the results are too often disastrous and, apart from this surprising development, with few guardrails.
It is with an eye on the pitfalls that Rosalind Butler wrote this play which Freimond had huge fun putting on stage and screen – which it lends itself to. If you want to know how to get younger audiences to theatre, this is it. You’re talking their language and the play offers the chance to play with different generations and their approach to social media.
With phones an additional accessory, few people can resist writing and sending off messages in abundance and often with more haste than hesitation, which would be a tool to keep in mind. Once you push that button, the harm’s done.
Parents: Charmaine Weir-Smith (right) and Anthony Coleman.
And in this version it’s all done in full colour and with the scenarios taking real issues which will cause havoc as they go viral. We’re living in a world where too many are completely unaware of the sensitivity of certain issues.
Families allow schools to dictate norms while these institutions see their roles as strictly educational, refusing to meddle with the morals of their young charges. It is a recipe for disaster, especially with all the tools available in today’s communication circus where everyone is encouraged to participate.
Butler’s text races off at breakneck speed, almost mirroring the record times messages are sent and read while disrupting and destroying lives. There’s very little chance of pulling back once the release button has been activated. And while we all know and understand the world we live in – fast and furious – we still don’t stick to the safety precautions.
It’s a topic that encourages a contemporary social media approach and Freimond with his cast go at it full tilt. Nothing has to be explained or embroidered because we all know the playing field with all its inviting yet often devastating intrigue.
Phone gymnastics.
The cast is perfect as they play their characters and their often-vacuous natures to perfection – all at different tempo yet with a serious approach only possible in our deranged contemporary landscape that encourages these public meltdowns with humiliating outcomes. Weir-Smith’s mother and wife has captured a type we all recognise, so wrapped and isolated in her own tiny world, she’s completely unaware of the destruction she leaves in her wake.
In turn her husband (Anthonty Coleman) is blinded by his own importance, with his wife and son marginal figures in his corporate universe.
Their son (Nicholas Hattingh) is focussed on the love of his life with no understanding of the effect his public vitriol might have on his mostly invisible life.
We can all see the avalanche of disaster which will soon obliterate this family teetering on the edge already, but, fortunately because of the very nature of social media, many mini scenarios are being replicated all around them.
Because we’re all au fait with social media, it’s fun to witness something so familiar unfold as we recognise and might even have participated in similar scenarios. A good edit (a cut of approx. 15 minutes) would have avoided repetition and landed a near perfect play. It might come across as fun and games, but we all recognise that in many lives it could also be deadly serious.
For film fanatics, this is the time to catch up with the Oscar-nominated films with the winners to be announced on March 10. It will add some extra fun to the whole movie experience. DIANE DE BEER opted for Poor Things andThe Zone of Interest from the current crop on the Ster Kinekor circuit and, apart from excellence and originality, the appeal was that the two films could not be more different.
Let’s first have a look at their Oscar nominations: both for Best Picture; Emma Stone from Poor Things for Best Actress; Mark Ruffalo from Poor Things for Best Supporting Actor; Best Adapted Screenplay for both Poor Thingsand The Zone of Interest; Best Production Design for Poor Things; Best International Film for The Zone of Interest; Best Editing for Poor Things; Best Cinematography for Poor Things; Best Costume Design for Poor Things; Best Makeup and Hairstyling for Poor Things; Best Sound for The Zone of Interest; Best Original Score for Poor Things.
And these are a strong indication of the kind of movies we’re dealing with. Let’s start with the fun, energy and exuberance of Poor Things. Emma Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos are forming a powerful partnership following their first encounter The Favourite and it is as if this second creative endeavour was given permission by the success of the first to go all out – and they do.
Apart from the obvious deliciousness of the story depicting steam-punk retelling of a female Frankenstein, its also the landscape that Lanthimos picks and paints in which to tell the story.
With the emergence of our weird and wild scientist Dr Godwin Baxter’s (Willem Defoe) Bella (Stone), colour plays an important emotional role. As she grows into what she believes her role to be, everything becomes brighter and more visible and there’s also a quality of wonderment that runs from start to finish – both for the characters and for the audience.
Much of that can be attributed to Stone and her director, who have obviously taken the plunge and permitted themselves to tell the story that’s important to their minds – a woman with a mind of her own unfettered by the rules and morals of a society (read: men) that knows it knows best. In their world (and still today), they decide about a woman’s mind and body and the way she has to live.
From Stone’s elaborate wardrobe, her acting mobility and scope, the language in which they depict this adult fable-lesque adventure, the almost romp- and rakish elements enhanced by the beautifully bizarre yet unusual performance from the usually more affable and straight-down-the-middle Mark Ruffalo, all of these take you along on this madcap Alice-in-Wonderland – but a much more specifically driven – trip.
As the title suggests, Stone as Bella is the one in command and the one driving the process of her emancipation. In fact, she isn’t even aware she needs guidance or permission for anything in her life. She is prompted by her senses, her joy in experiencing life without any guardrails and completely unaware of the fact that the men who enter her sphere expect compliance and a dogged determination to adhere to their every command.
There’s so much more going on, but this is a film that should overwhelm, be allowed to enter your imagination and take you on their flight of fantasy. Enjoy – and then meditate on the radical directions they explore: a woman with a mind of her own!
And then for something completely different. Think World War 2, the Holocaust and the many stories told from every which way to explore the nightmarish horrors of that time. The Zone of Interest adapted from a Martin Amis novel by the same name, had to give us something new, something different to have any impact with one of the most gruesome acts in recent memory and one familiar to most of the world.
How to put the viewer into that space of horror in a different way? That was director/writer Jonathan Glazer’s task and mission. And the word that grips you from start to finish is chilling.
Glazer understood that he could tell the story without showing the victims which has been the focus of so many magnificent depictions previously. There’s Schindler’s List and The Pianist, to mention the obvious.
Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) is the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp. With his wife Hedwig (Anatomy of a Fall’s Sandra Hüller) and their houseful of children, they are living the ideal family life in what is sketched vividly as a bucolic idyll.
Yet looming in the background of their comfortable home is the camp. The smoke never stops rising, soldiers are spotted on occasion, the mistress of the house reprimands one of the staff with a warning of what her husband could do with her ashes, and Rudolf leaves every morning for work in his smartly pressed Nazi uniform on top of a magnificent steed.
This carefully choreographed, painfully pristine world of the Höss family does not miss the tiniest detail to deny the horrors that lie just beyond their perfectly crafted home life. Denial is a powerful tool that is deftly applied in many situations to deal with something happening to everyone’s knowledge, yet, by turning their heads, the all-powerful reality is completely dismissed and ignored.
Thát is chilling. How often in these scary situations do we hear that explanatory phrase: we didn’t know? That is why this film knocks you sideways while watching, impacts brutally and then lingers.
Hüller, arguably Europe’s hottest actress of the moment, apparently didn’t want to participate in this film. She’s magnificent and I’m thrilled she did. But it is easy to see why you wouldn’t want to immerse yourself in that dark period of Germany’s life. These kind of suppressions, oppressions and killings constantly repeat themselves across the world in many different yet no less intolerable fashions. Look at our current situation in the world. That’s why this is such an important and impactful cinematic experience. It’s smart in the way it tells a story of the past with what is happening in our world today, as cleverly injected as the camp was in the lives of the determinedly optimistic Nazi family.
DIANE DE BEER talks to the chef about the favoured ingredient:
For followers and fans of the creative chef Lientjie Wessels, her latest venture is a workshop on mushrooms on Saturday (March 2) in Cullinan.
Because of her individual style in anything she does and her vast knowledge and instinctive approach with food, expect the unexpected.
As an ingredient, mushrooms are growing bigger and bigger each year, she offers as an explanation for this particular subject. “It’s also a very interesting food. There’s so much that is still unfamiliar about mushrooms. Incredibly, there are approximately 10 000 varieties of which we only eat 30 and then about another 20 we know of that are used in medicinal ways,” she explains. “There’s always been a huge interest in mushrooms which I know will become even more intense in the future.”
She’s also intrigued by the fact that when taking the DNA of a mushroom into account, it is the ingredient that has the most in common with meat. Add to that its depth of flavour and as a bonus, a strong nutritious component as well.
For Lientjie, the importance of mushrooms as an ingredient, is their versatility. “You can even use it in a dessert,” she says. “It’s incredible what you can do.” She includes anything from mushroom kombucha to candies – savoury and sweet. And if anyone can let their imagination run riot in the kitchen, Lientjie is that person.
Think of the huge interest in and growth of the plant-based way of eating and thus cooking, and she knows her instincts are red-hot. Why not mushrooms, is how she views her choice.
Some of her ways with mushrooms which she will include in her masterclass, are how to make a powder, which means you always have some on hand; the equivalent of meat patties with lentils and mushrooms; candied mushrooms; or a hearty winter.
Each kind is so different and that’s why she encourages keen cooks to get to know their mushrooms and how to make the best decisions. “I can’t stand it when I’m served a watery mushroom sauce because it’s been cooked incorrectly,” she says. If you take oyster mushrooms as an example, just the different colours make her happy. And each mushroom has different traits which should be emphasised.
Describing her own food preference as flexitarian, it means she eats less meat and is more conscious of where food comes from. “What are the processes ingredients have undergone?” is what plays on her mind. Being a thoughtful eater is what our future should be all about.
It has long been an ethos, but more recently, because of the Greta Thunbergs of the world, the youth is much more aware of working more gently with the planet. The way foods are manipulated for example plays a huge role and will become more urgent in the future.
“I don’t mind meat or tripe for that matter, but I have a problem with how it is treated,” she says. But then she’s off in another direction as she muses about mushroom sausages. And why not?
Her belief is that you can really wow people with mushrooms – and, with her cuisine creativity, probably with anything she puts her mind to. She likes putting things together in ways which are unexpected.
She describes mushrooms as one of the super foods that will keep growing in popularity.
There are so many advantages. For example, they are easy to grow. We still know way too little, and could learn more and more.
If you haven’t heard of Chicken of the Woods (love that name!), know of the fermentation process, or of the different coloured oyster mushrooms, this will be the class for you.
Think about it, says Lientjie, you can harvest mushrooms every few days and even grow them in small spaces like an apartment. “What’s not to love about them?” she asks. Combined with sprouting lentils, for example, you have food. It’s an amazing source of protein!”
By now you might have gathered that Lientjie is excited about mushrooms. “People should grow their own food and know the source of what they buy,” is her dictum. Which, to her mind, makes mushrooms such an easy option.
“They can be eaten all year round. You can go for something as easy and fresh as a raw mushroom salad for example. “I love the smell of a raw mushroom when I cut them,” she notes. “Just add some lovely Kalahari salt, and you have a meal.”
But she warns, mushrooms don’t work when they’re not well cooked. “If you make a mushroom sauce or fry mushrooms, do it right, or you might just serve your guests breakfast mushroom mush.”
She advocates using mushrooms more creatively and that’s what her workshop is all about.
“This is my first mushroom workshop, but it won’t be the last,” she says.
How can you resist?
The programme on the day is the following:
11.30am: Mushroom kombucha cocktail and mushroom canapés
Noon: Short intro into the wonders and umami on cooking with mushrooms
12.15pm: Recipes and goodie bags in the kitchen where we will all proceed to make:
Fermented mushroom
Mushroom umami powder
Mushroom burgers
Classic mushroom salad
2pm: Take your seat at our beautiful table to be served a lovely meal
2.30pm: Surprise dessert
R750 per perso0n including class, welcoming drink, lunch, recipe folder and goodie bag.
Wine and gins available for your account.
Contact 082 531 6141 for bookings and directions.
Don’t hesitate, Lientjie is inspirational in the way she approaches food.
Janice Honeyman’s Peter Pan at Joburg Theatre’s Nelson Mandela Theatre
Cast: Richard Richard (Smelly Smee), Ben Voss (Mr Darling and Captain Hook), Kensiwe Tshabalala (Mrs Darling), Kiruna-Lind Devar (Wendy), Matthew Berry (John), Diego Hamity (Michael), David Arnold Johnson (Clementina Coconut), Manyano Ngoma (the dog, Nana), Virtuous KIandemiri (Thokolina Tinkerbell), Sandi Dlangalala (Peter Pan), Lesedi Rich (Sam Spaginyol), Gareth Meijsen (Seb Scumdawg), Dirk Joubert (Sparkey), Gugu Dhlamini (Curley), Sarah Leigh (Nibs), Brian Ngobese (Tootles), Bo Molefe (Slightly) and Tania Mteto (Princess Lotus Lily) and the ensemble
Associate Director: Timothy le Roux
Production Designer: Andrew Timm
Lighting Director: Johan Ferreira
Sound Designer: Akhona Bozo
Choreographer: Khaya Ndlovu
Costume Designer and Co-ordinator: Mariska Meyer
Dates: Until December 24 (so get going!)
If you have seen as many pantomimes as I have, you need some incentive (especially when you’re no longer the target market).
For me there were two big ones; Janice Honeyman and my two favourite little ones. Just the fact that I can still stomach a pantomime has everything to do with someone who is completely ruled by her inner child when writing and staging the annual panto.
Not only does she know how to negotiate an audience of young and older children but she also shares her panto story with loads of fun clues for those with many more years on the planet to keep their minds spinning once they’ve seen enough of all the silliness and have had enough festive cheer.
She has also found a compromise with the LED screens and all the bells and whistles they add to this production, while holding on to some of the more old-fashioned sets and designs, which breathe life into the rapidly developing technology.
It’s a miracle just to watch her each year as she finds ways to build novel glitz into the show. She has established her nimble dance to deliver the goods – and that she does with sparkle – time and time again. Small wonder they can’t let her go as she just keeps pushing those stakes higher and higher each time.
This is probably somewhere in the region of my 30th Honeyman panto production and the fact that I can keep going and writing willingly, says everything.
This time it’s Peter Pan and one of the delights which has been been happening for a few decades is the transformation of the South African stage. I know some might ask whether we still have to touch on these colour issues, but it is especially the popular shows that had to get it right and had the most impact. Of course Ms Honeyman did just that. And it easily gets better every year.
David Johnson as Clementine Coconut.
She has created many stars and again, a few are stepping out smartly to show their stuff. I have to confess, I have always been a David Johnson fan. Perhaps he’s not the obvious choice for the panto dame, but that’s another of Janice’s tricks up her sleeve. She doesn’t opt for the obvious and then she delivers another bit of magic by getting a performance that’s different, yet works. Clementine Coconut could have some fun with her costumes which already delivered the goods and to boot, Johnson added some swish and style to his panto tart.
Ben Voss as Captain Hook
Ben Voss, another panto and Honeyman regular, did double duty and delivered a devilishly evil Captain Hook with a smart swagger and punch, which might have scared some and tickled others, and then quietly slipped into the shoes of the more demure Mr Darling.
Virtuous Klandemiri as Thokolina Tinkerbell with Sandi Dlangalala as Peter Pan.
If you have a very traditional view of what and who Thokolina Tinkerbell should be, Honeyman flipped that applecart as well and gave us the sparkly Virtuous (could there be a more apt name!) Klandemiri as well as the light-on-his-feet Sandi Dlangalala who starred and shone as as Peter Pan in this debut performance.
Michael Richard as Smelly Smee.
Michael Richard added a performance with flair and wisdom enhanced by decades of experience as Smelly Smee and the youngsters in the cast kept the energy up and the artistry pumping.
It’s a gran show. This time we sat on the balcony and it was fascinating to get this different yet complete view. I know many people regard the lower level as the better seats. My small companions had seen last year’s panto from the front row.
The full splendour.
But in the end, the balcony offers a complete appreciation of the Honeyman approach. It allows you to focus on the whole rather than individual performances for example but also accentuates the detail that comes together in the design. It’s easy to understand why Honeyman draws you in time and again.
Ketsia Velaphi in Tankiso Mamabolo’s Don’t Believe a Word I Say.
Teksmark has been running for a few years now in Cape Town (see previous post) and recently KKNK CEO Hugo Theart decided it was time for Gauteng (with the helpof the well placed Foxwood team providing the venue) to show their stripes – and predictably, they came out in full force. DIANE DE BEER picks a few personal favourites:
Teksmark has been one of my favourite outings from the start because it keeps me in touch with new (and often young) playwrights, what they are thinking about and how they find the words to tell their story.
It has also opened the KKNK’s profile to embrace a much larger slice of the arts and in this somewhat geographically challenged country of ours, we need everyone in the arts community to reach out and hold hands. We have amazing stories to tell, but the audiences are limited and the cohesion of the arts community, nationally, is important.
Director and playwright Obett Motaung (centre with microphone) in conversation with CEO Hugo Theart and his cast.
Obett Motaung cleverly started with a catchy title, A Street Taxi Named Desiree, and plaed with just that. The play is a series of sketches with taxis as the hot and happening topic.
What he does especially smartly is use all the South African tropes that everyone will recognise even those who never use taxis. Coldrinks? Does anyone not know what that means when for example a traffic cop or policeman stops you?
Or the rules that are there, yet not for taxi drivers? The fact that everyone recognised these foibles in the room, says much about the South African landscape.
And this is also what made this such a smart piece of writing. It grabs you with laughter yet slips in quite a few serious issues, again, instantly recognisable.
Christo Davids (playwright) with his cast for Laaitie Mettie Biscuits.
We all know or perhaps think we know the problems special needs individuals face on a daily basis. Some of that is captured in Christo Davids’ courageous text which has him facing rather than ignoring the problems.
His play titled Laaittie Mettie Biscuits is about a differently-wired young man who gets into trouble with the police and because of a misunderstanding and the difficulty society has of dealing with anyone or anything that isn’t “normal”, things quickly get out of hand.
And making the point even more sharply, following the reading, most of the discussion was focussed on the need of a Down syndrome individual to be cast in the role. Anything else would defeat the purpose of the story, no matter the challenges.
Asked about his reason for writing the play, Davids explained that he hoped to spark a different conversation or at least, thinking about people who because of different physical or mental challenges have to operate in a world that didn’t easily acknowledge and make provision for them.
Holding a mirror to society is one of the many positives of theatre and no more so than with this truly brave attempt. Let’s hope that we see it given life on stage.
Tankiso Mamabolo selling her delightful Don’t Believe a Word I Say.
Playwright Tankiso Mamabolo’s says Don’t Believe a Word I Say was written as a play on memory and how we often embellish these remembrances over time, to protect us from trauma or to fill in the gaps that have appeared over time.
She had everyone delighted when she pointed out that the play was written in the style of ADHD, wrote it in fact in exactly the way she thinks – and luckily for those of us watching, she has an imaginative mind worth interrogating.
What do we choose to remember and what devices do we use to reach back? These are the issues she spotlights.
“I have a team of black women dissecting, reminiscing and recreating black girlhood in a way that utilises humour without dehumanising black girls and instead focusses on the nuances of their vulnerabilities with the complete understanding that they are complete bad asses. I wrote a play about my childhood that gives voice to parts of black girlhood that are often overlooked eg, we also can be hopeless romantics despite of the world and what is happening around us.”
And in the process, she gave everyone a lesson in how to present their play. This is someone who knows what to do with an opportunity and I can see it paying off – as does her play.
It’s fun as Tankiso explained, she was featuring young black women, usually an ignored section of society – and think about that! She already has an audience right off. And with her talent, there will be more. She’s got what it takes.
Farce has never been my favourite medium but if anyone can pull it off, it is Nico Luwes. And knowing all the rules to get things off on the wrong foot, which is the key to any farce, Nico also made sure the best ingredient for this kind of performance was in place – the cast.
A cast to die for with playwright Nico Luwes (right)
He pulled out all the stops with Koebaai, ou Koba!: Henrietta Gryffenberg, Tobie Cronje, Elzabé Zietsman, Pietie Beyers, Rina Nienaber, Gert van Niekerk, Peter Terry and Ryno Hattingh, all veterans in the business and some not seen on stage for a very long time.
But the names are recognisable and an audience is out there waiting. They will be salivating to see this ensemble – and we could see why. Yes it will cost, they won’t make much money, but they will draw the crowds.
That’s the thing about this kind of theatre. Because it is sometimes viewed as an easy ask, not enough attention is paid to the staging and performers. But if you do it right, you have a winner as the director/playwright proved here.
Op die hoek van Styx en River is Nora Per Abuis Met die Dood Oorgeslaanby Henque Hymans with David Viviers and Gretha Brazelle.
When everything comes together in a play, it always makes you smile. That’s what happened with Op Die Hoek Van Styx en River is Nora Per Abuis Met die Dood Oorgeslaan written by Henque Heymans staged with actors Grethe Brazelle and David Viviers who meet at some point between life and a transfer to another place.
Their conversation is all about misunderstanding. The instructor is bored with a conversation she has regularly, while the listener doesn’t know that she’s died. This sudden meeting has her completely perplexed.
It’s confusion which turns into a conversation of much merriment and originality.
And … Action! with Jane Mpholo (playwright) and Ronda Mpiti.
And as I run out of space, I want to include two more remarkable participants: Jane Mpholo’s And…Action! who wanted to sketch South Africa in full colour but in a bantering, light way, yet still including bite; and another example of how the Teksmark works, Ek Sal Jou Leer Om Die Melk Te Deel, a play that was accepted previously and now with some work, was featured again most successfully. With a theme of mothers raising the children of others, while not having enough time with her own, it’s something that touches all South Africans in different ways. And again, it makes everyone think especially playwright Lwanda Sindaphi who kept reworking.
Anele Situlweni (sitting) and Maude Sandham in Ek Sal Jou Leer om die Melk te Deel.
As you can see, it is about the people and the plays, the topics that are addressed and argued about, the potential that is discovered and nurtured – and in conclusion, the general health of the theatre industry.
The delightful cast from Khanya and her Golden Dream.
The 8th Teksmark in collaboration with NATi, the Baxter Theatre Centre and the Het Jan Marais Nasionale Fonds again presented a wealth of 18 scripts by 20 playwrights, performed by 60 actors with 18 directors which was showcased to potential investors with lively discussions following every performance. The brilliant brainchild of Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees artistic director Hugo Theart, generating 125 texts through the years with 36 text ideas becoming fully fledged productions. DIANE DE BEER gives her impressions of her favourites at the most recent market held as always at Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre from August 30 to September 1:
*To follow is a report on the first Gauteng Teksmark which was held earlier this month.
With established writers like Mike van Graan, Philip Rademeyer and Ingrid Winterbach featuring, some celebrated Teksmark virgins like Andi Colombo delivering a second time round and a handful of new finds, all round, it was as always a revealing event.
Some contemporary issues were addressed, some writers ventured into new territory and others expanded on familiar themes yet tackled with a fresh eye. Covid didn’t necessarily feature, but it did offer quite a few playwrights the time to write a new play, which just shows that there is always a silver lining.
Ingrid Winterbach (centre) speaking about her play Moedswil en Muitery with director Gideon Lombard and interviewer Kabous Meiring.
Take insightful writer Ingrid Winterbach for example, probably serious will always be somewhere in the description about her novel writing. Yet when she decided to turn to playwriting again, it was playfulness that became the focus.
With a show of skilful writing, she looked at our past, Jan van Riebeek and his wife Maria in fact, and had some fun as she put a fresh spin on the arrival of the early colonialists with the stated intention of planting a flag.
But we all know there was much more planting intended than what was divulged – and it’s here where she has some fun with her wise words, which she so craftily uses to play devil’s advocate.
Part of the fun of Teksmark is that Theart in discussion with the writers assigns a director and then actors to specific plays and often this is where a meeting of true minds can make real magic. This was indeed what happened with this one as director Gideon Lombard bought into the text and his sassy cast with Wessel Pretorius (who is becoming the Tobie Cronje of his generation) setting the tone for the rest of the team including Hannah Borthwick, Geon Nel and Lombard.
It’s going to be a hit with audiences as the writing, directing and acting all promise sublime merriment. And then we haven’t even started with setting and style yet.
Prolific playwright Mike van Graan always keeps the South African pulse beating vigorously.
The prolific Mike van Graan hit a high note (while his latest My Fellow South Africans aimed at the ’24 elections was running concurrently at Gauteng’s Theatre on the Square see https://bit.ly/3PdseY7) with his Teksmark offering.
Typically titled The Good White, what I find so appealing about his current work is that he sharply hones in on touchstones in our political life that everyone is aware of but few speak about. And there are no holy cows here.
Some weren’t happy with what they referred to as stereotypes, but in the current state of the world (and it has really come to that if you look around), if our writers don’t have some serious fun with some sharp truths that makes for wincing if weirdly wonderful introspection, how else do we deal with it?
In The Good White, it is especially the older generations that will react because it zooms in specifically on a struggle white man, that rare species who was part of the cause pre ’94. He was considered one of the good guys, as there weren’t that many.
Now he is teaching at University but the students are unaware of his model past and his struggle credentials don’t absolve him anymore and he constantly finds himself moving on quicksand. It’s hilarious if perhaps too close to the bone for some, but that’s always the Van Graan medicine. It cuts deeply across the full spectrum, which means everyone pays and performs.
And clever of him to throw this one into the lion’s den at Teksmark. Why not hear what prospective audiences have to say before it goes on stage?
He has found his niche and no one else is doing it this focussed, and with such fierceness and regularity. Until they listen, I will keep shouting, is his premise.
Packing up in Dying in the Now with Celeste Loots
Two of the most promising texts came from Andi Colombo who had previously made her mark with her first work Dying in the Now and like then, when I wrote about the gentleness, generosity and probing text, she has done it again.
Her writing and the ideas she plays with are exciting and something you want to hold close. Hers is a rare talent which is paying dividends and hopefully she will be encouraged to keep writing
This time she takes a place, Verlorenvlei, which she visits and knows and has obviously given her heart. The name already says it all.
Emma Kotze and Shaun Oelf in Andi Colombo’s Verloren.
Verloren started as a short film which won a Standard Bank ovation prize and Colombo decided to expand the text for the Teksmark. It’s poetic, it catches you by the throat and she deals in issues that are crucial yet in a way human- rather than issue-driven. She is a playwright with a wonderfully rare talent who has stolen my heart.
And someone entering this realm, Nell van der Merwe, captured many hearts not only with her playwriting but also with her obviously overwhelming passion for theatre. It’s all in the writing. There’s a classic feel about her approach to language which is captivating and stops you in your tracks.
It’s almost not about what she’s saying, but how she says it. Whimsical and wise, dealing in myths and fairytales, which she feels is a way to play with the politics of people. And basing her text on Leipoldt’s Die Laaste Aand, Dryfhout deals in much that has gone wrong in this country as it looks at heritage, the entitlement of the ruling class and the changing perceptions and acknowledgement of the painful past inflicted on people.
Others that also made their mark included Sibahle Mabaso with Khanya and her Golden Dream, a family production with many lessons embedded cleverly in the text; Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmars’ Kontrapunt, which is an exciting shift for Jacobs and a clever idea which should be explored further; Praat Gou Weer by exciting theatre contributor, Khanya Viljoen, who interrogates internet dangers; and then included in quite a few texts was gender based violence, the South African scourge which cannot be tackled enough.
As with all the previous years, the excitement was tangible, the texts tantalising and the productions just a taste of their eventual potential. I cannot wait to see which of these will be developed to take on the bigger stages.
What has been clear apart from new playwrights emerging, many who found initial success just keep going and some established names have discovered what an explosive platform this can be. It is constantly expanding and the results simply mean that theatre gains.
Well done to Hugo Theart and his amazing team for this initiative which benefits and reaches far wider than the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees. And to Baxter CEO Lara Foot for the support.
Read more next week about the first Teksmark held in Gauteng early in November.
De Beer Necessities 