Category: playwright

THE CENTRE FOR THE LESS GOOD IDEA STRETCHES THE ARTISTIC BOUNDARIES WITH GAY ABANDON

~ debeernecessities ~ 2 Comments

Photographer: Zivanai Matangi

“It’s about how we become an ensemble, whether we are performers, audience members, or neighbours. It’s how the city performs itself through us, and also how we choose to perform the city. Johannesburg is a place that requires a collective navigation, a mutual reliance, a particular call and responses.” Neo Muyanga, Impressario of the Centre for the Less Good Idea in Maboneng.

Dancer Thulisile Binda

By DIANE DE BEER

The best would have been to attend all the evenings of the 11th season to experience the full impact of what co-founder and director of The Centre, Bronwyn Lace describes as a multi-limbed, complex organism which she believes is what the Less Good Idea has evolved into. “…our arms reaching into various directions but connected to the same robust body. It makes sense for us to share a season at the end of this year, because we have an abundance of new strategies, forms, and artworks to test, show, and celebrate.”

Pianist Jill Richards with vocalist Pertunia Msani.

And it certainly was all of that, exploding with a sense of creative abandon in two hours of exuberant performance which ranged from the glorious musically driven showcase by classically trained improviser Jill Richards who performed magnificently with the Benin drummer, percussionist, composer and arranger Angelo Moiustapha accompanied by the melodic voice of Pertunia Msaniiwith Marcus Neustetter’s digital storytelling adding yet another dimension to the experience. The musicianship was breathtaking.

It set the tone for what was to come as the audience moved to William Kentridge’s studio to experience a collection of mindblowing artists, starting with the spiritually immersive Vincent Mantsoe, one of our finest choreographers/dancers in one of his rare local appearances. Translike in his movement and tearing at the soul of those witnessing his deep level of engagement, the evening merged from one artist to another as Kentridge stepped from one stage to the next as he expressed his creativity with body and soul.

It was all about the merging of art and movement, Moving the Mark, as the event was titled, exploring the relationship between visual art and dance. What they wanted to achieve was to explore the relationship between these unusual pairings and what would emerge.

Vincent Mantsoe in action with percussionist Micca Manganye

How would the pure art of collaboration determine new creative decisions for an audience to experience and absorb? What happens when a dancer like Mantsoe mimics the ink stains of an artist like Kentridge, or from a different vantage, when the painter choreographs their brushstrokes?

Artist Penny Siopis took to the air in almost trapeze-like fashion, painting her canvas on the floor from up high while choreographer/dramaturg Shannel Winlock-Pailman worked her magic below in mesmerizing fashion, the two artists in total union while expressing their heightened emotions.

All the while, the musical accompaniment captured the experience of the moment, enveloping the audience in the round, some wrapped in black bags to protect them from the explosive expression of art as artists flung paint creatively with fearsome flair.

The Centre for the Less Good Idea is all about the collective voice expressed in collaborative pairings, artists who work in different mediums but have creativity and exploration that binds them, pushing the boundaries, trying different ways of making new work to excite themselves as artists while also challenging and stimulating audiences constantly searching for art and creativity exploring the evolving world we live in.

Curator Neo Muyanga (left) and Kentridge (right, in the left corner) choreographing with brushstrokes while Mantsoe is on stage following the moves.

It’s exciting when artists go beyond the expected, and are given free rein to explore their storytelling genres. How can they beat that drum differently? Given the chance to fail is often the best way to reach excellence but the restrictions are many. And more than anything, it is the encouragement to stretch far beyond the boundaries, to take that leap and to experience the beginning of experiments which are allowed to grow and flourish.

This first sold-out performance of the 11th season proved that the audience is willing and determined to experience artists moving the mark. The rest of the season sounded as extraordinary and my wish would have been to witness the full week of extraordinary creativity encouraged to dare to go beyond the expected.

How blessed are Gauteng audiences (who showed their appreciation) to experience these glorious experiments inspired and empowered by William Kentridge who could have staged them anywhere in the world. Kentridge gives us the opportunity to grow together and to expand our idea of what anything and everything is. Step into the void and see what happens comes to mind.

THE TOYOTA STELLENBOSCH WOORDFEES FEATURES MANY DREAM PRODUCTIONS AND PERFORMANCES

~ debeernecessities

Photographers: Jeremeo Le Cordeur; Llewelyn de Wet and Gys Loubser

The Stellenbosch Woordfees can be quite a daunting prospect because there is so much on offer. It is perhaps easier if you have specific artistic passions, as most of them will be on offer here and it is possible to make a selection. DIANE DE BEER spotlights what caught her fancy

There’s not even a chance that you can include all your darlings in a festival wrap or even try to see them all.

I did my best, was constantly on the move and writing, and still I hear of more productions you just had to see.

Personal favourites (don’t discount others because I probably didn’t see them):

My best theatre productions were stories that turned me into an emotional wreck but did so with authenticity (I know this is a woke word, but …).

Tinarie van Wyk-Loots and Kristen Raath (left) and Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee (right) in

Dianne du Toit Albertze’s Huis van Sand. Pictured by Jeremeo Le Cordeur

The winning text of the prestigious Reinet Nagtegaal prize, Dianne du Toit Albertze’s Huis van Sand, with her honest portrayal of a dysfunctional family that’s probably not even part of most audiences’ consciousness. She writes about what she knows and where she comes from, the Northern Cape. But she does this in her self-made tongue, which shoots right to the heart and guts of the matter, no pussyfooting around with this one.

It is not a place many of the traditional Woordfees audiences will know. The backdrop is the N7, a route that runs from one end of the country to the other. It is her little spot next to the highway that Sandy knows. She and her daughter share Rodney’s caravan and too much of his life, especially the dark side. They’re trapped and yet the lifestyle is passed on from one generation to the next with the whole family fully engaged. A seemingly never-ending devastating cycle.

What drives Huis van Sand are Albertze’s words, her imagination, and the way she plays wildly with your head and emotions. Throw into the mix director Wolfie Britz’s strong casting and determined direction. With the remarkable Tinarie van Wyk-Loots launching herself body and soul into this one, Sandy’s daughter (Kristen Raath) trying to duck the missiles and resist diving headfirst into the temptations, Jefferson J Dirks-Korkee’s chilly capture of the toxic male scent always hovering menacingly and René Cloete showing she is much more than just an innocent bystander, everything about this production hits you like an onslaught.

Yet this is one you want to struggle and engage with because of the sharp edges and the unblinking gaze at the harsh reality of so many lives. It’s heartwrenching, but that is something this playwright has never turned away from. She stares straight into the skewered glare of too many unseen lives and throws us all in at the deep end. The brilliance is well worth the battle.

Melissa de Vries as Nadia and Angelo Bergh as her friend Zavie

Walking the same tightrope, is the adaptation by Jolyn Phillips of Ronelda Kampher’s ravaging novel starring two vulnerable yet resilient teen cousins who try their best to navigate a world they don’t understand while instinctively understanding that they are their only protection.

For Nadia (Melissa de Vries) and her chum Zavie (Angelo Bergh) their bond while tenuous and often fragile is what keeps them breathing.

With this one it is again the magnificence of the performances and the staging by Lee-Ann van Rooi that holds the attention as these two baby-adults going about their lives as if it is normal – and for them it is, it’s all they know.

That’s precisely the point. This is their normal, their life and the one Kampher’s words in her searing novel lay bare. Their whole existence is determined by outside factors, never certain or expected. Yet they do know how to grab the small slices of life when given the chance which isn’t often. They should not even be aware of the things happening in their lives, yet that’s the only way they know how to roll.

Kampher’s language is brilliantly captured by Phillips’ adaptation. How she even knew where to start! It’s such a complex and almost crippling story about these children whose future is determined purely by the happenstance of their birth.

Both of them have bucketsful of gifts which will never be realized because there’s simply no support or networks for these drifting families where not one generation manages to get even a foothold on a real life.

If anything good happens in their lives, it is luck and often, at that particular moment, the recipient doesn’t know how to deal with it.

When reading Kampher’s book the first time, you’re in awe of the writing and the storytelling. It’s the way she focused on the stories never told, the way she draws the characters, gives them flesh and emotions, which in this instance are perfectly re-created by the choices of Van Rooi and the adaptation by Phillips.

What a beautiful acting team. I don’t know them, don’t watch television if that’s where they perform, but I do know that they have inhabited these two kids with so much energy and guts, it’s hard to resist.

And that’s the joy of festivals, the opportunities that arise for artists so that when the stars align (a good script, director and actors), nothing can hold them back.

All of these performances should and will hopefully travel. For far too long too many voices have been silenced. We are so much richer as a country, as audiences and as performers when all our stories are shared.

Albert Pretorius (actor) and Schalk Joubert (guitarist) in Ek is nie Danie pictured by Llwellyn de Wet and Gys Loubser.

Writing about stars aligning, another perfect example of this was Ek Is Nie Danie with 21 poems from poet Danie Marais’ four collections woven into a magnificent text that deals with a middle-aged white man struggling.

What four middle-aged men did with what they had, was inspirational. They took something which if not handled with the same delicacy as the poetry, could have been disastrous. But because of deft hands and hearts, it feels as though you are dealing with an emotional vortex, but one driven with artistic insight and instinct which holds the audience tightly and sharply in focus from start to finish.

It worked because of the truly exquisite writing and then the choice of the right participants. The concept was Niel van Deventer’s according to the programme, but then handed to one of our smartest directors, Nico Scheepers. He is given a topic which would turn most people away – the angst and anxiety of ageing white men, not a species that many have much sympathy for.

Yet this company with actor Albert Pretorius and musical director/guitarist Schalk Joubert has shown that, given the right elements, a director who knows how to shape something yet value his actor and musician by allowing them the freedom to be and to do, it will work – and in this instance, explosively.

It’s one of those performances that you want to see again as soon as you leave the theatre. I hope it travels the country.

I took these three stunning plays to give some flavour to the Woordfees which is far too dense and diverse to dilute, but that there’s something for everyone, that’s a certainty and you won’t have to look too far or hard.

They have achieved much in only a short time and in the future with everything changing so rapidly, we can only expect to experience even more.

And then just a small PS: I was asked to interview Nataniël on a book Bloei+Blom and being who he is, the first lunch was booked out swiftly and another date the next day was included and again fully booked. But hey, the more the merrier.

As an interviewer, this is the one date I don’t have nerves. I know I am in safe hands and he is the master of chat.

It was the easiest gig in town. Even though he and I had talked about topics of conversation before the time, once on a roll, and only three questions down, I could sit back, relax and enjoy one of our best (and naturally funniest) conversationalists in action.

There was no way to ask anything else. He was in full flight on his own. He did glance my way once or twice, but there was no interrupting the flow. And even better, he was the one they wanted to see and hear.

I felt blessed, centre stage and could watch the wizard in full flights of fantasy.

*There were many others I loved, many of which I had written on at the Woordfees or previously including Boklied, Seun, Bridling, Kuns, Magda en haar Erhard, Ont-, and always The Ugly Noo Noo …

AARDKLOP PUNCHES ABOVE ITS WEIGHT

~ debeernecessities

Like most things in life there are good and bad to small packages, but Aardklop CEO Alexa Strachan has turned her shiny Potchefstroom gem into a star through clever planning, a balancing act of note and enough variety to have everyone laughing and crying – with good food all over the place to boot. DIANE DE BEER speaks her mind:

My husband knows I’m a festival junkie (while he is NOT) but it is a personal indulgence and one that clearly nourishes.

This year was no different. Taking only a handful of my best, it’s not a difficult case to make.

Running down the alphabet as the festival guide does, it’s the overwhelming laughter that blew me away. I’m not a comedy girl so I didn’t know who Alfred Adriaan was but I screamed with laughter from start to finish and he was obviously a festival favourite in the packed auditorium.

With the name of Magda Louw (Desiré Gardner), one would think that I would remember that this is one of my favourite characters, but again, because of the comedy aversion, it just never surfaces. And yet, from the minute she walks on stage in her latest production, Magda Louw en haar Erhard, how Louw can you go?, this time with her husband Erhard (a delightfully Sad Sack performance by Hannes van Wyk), they just bowl you over.

What makes Magda so delightful to embrace is that she doesn’t go on the clichéd South African rant of potholes and politics, she has much more exciting things to deal with like the man constantly shuffling behind her as she leads the way at a faster pace and with much more rhythm, but the two ageing souls give you hope for the future as you realise that life is just a bowl of bubbles if you attack it in the right way.

On the other side of the spectrum there’s the magnificent solo debut by the extraordinary Wilhelm van der Walt, who unassumingly takes the stage and then reaching into a far too familiar past, given new perspective.

There was a time when I could hardly stomach another troepie tirade because it was so dominating in the country that it constantly surfaced on stage. What I realized this time round, is that Van der Walt himself probably never participated in this deadly exercise for so many decades part of our lives and there were certainly many young audiences who needs this insight on our past.

And if it is done with such magnificence, the flashbacks are worth recalling even if the past could be wished away.

How can anyone not be thrilled to experience Antoinette Kellermann and Dawid Minnaar on stage and in this instance in Breyten Breytenbach’s last play, Verwelkingslied, before he died. Although he dedicated the piece to Antoinette Kellermann and Marthinus Basson, she performed with her long-time stage partner Minnaar with Mari Borstlap as director on a set which was reminiscent of some of their earlier work together.

Minnaar is an eerily similar version of the poet in voice and image and immediately you can lose yourself in the meanderings of this philosophical and always poetic (almost) memoir. As the two actors take turns in monologue yet sharing Breytenbach’s feelings on death, one drifts away in the words so magnetic and the voice so penetrating, almost in dreamlike state, the actors and the audience.

The simplicity of the presentation is apt as it holds the depth and strength of the text so delicately. This is where we need the words to wash over us as an audience in almost immersive fashion.

I know that Amanda Strydom first mesmerized me with The Incredible Journey of Tinkerbell van Tonder and was eager to experience the performance all these decades later. Not that I can remember the detail, but with age of both text and performer, it’s as if everything has just found a warmer and gentler place to settle and lay her head down.

Finding your place in the world is a never-ending search and when you are fighting for freedom it is almost impossible – yet not when you’re Nelia Petersen who was handed the struggle together with mother’s milk.

It’s rigorous and robust with Strydom tackling the text and music with equal energy and exuberance. And all these years later, if anything, it is even more brittle and brilliant than before. I could watch this performance any day.

Belofte van Vere was our first production and yet another Breytenbach tribute but, once I witnessed the full cast on stage, they had my full attention. With the musically adventurous Laurinda Hofmeyr on piano, a rare singing appearance from the jazz-infused Ilse Klink, the genius muso Leon Gropp (guitar and voice), the soulful David Klassen (drums), a rhythmic Concord Nkabinde (bass) with the velvet voices of Rolanda Marais and Eben Genis, I knew I would be transformed. And I was.

Performers Eben Genis and Rolanda Marais

This exciting, gifted collection of artists would know how to do Breyten Breytenbach, without frills and fancy tricks, just delivering on their accomplishments and Breyten’s poetry and words. Anything else to my mind would have been unwarranted.

It’s my kind of show with my kind of people and poems. I needed nothing more. For me this was a Breytenbach celebration and I’m certain he would have been honoured.

Combining two dance companies, Cape Town’s magnificent Figure of 8 Dance Theatre who also performed their haunting tribute (Die Een Wat Bly) to the relationship between mothers and sons, the more expansive Wings of Light: Dance of an Angel returned dance to Aardklop in spectacular fashion. The music composed by Mauritz Lotz set the tone for an exquisite performance which showcased both classical and contemporary dance, the perfect rendition for an audience who might not often have the chance to see this kind of performance. It was a rare feat to stage this production and hopefully paved the way for similar ventures in the future.

Festivals have to walk a tightrope of not playing it too safe yet not antagonising their core audiences. With the large auditorium thé venue for one of our best comedians as well as two of the most exciting dance companies in the country, they managed just that.

There was also time to slip into the art venues, always something to cherish, and this time it was the festival Artist Jaco van Schalkwyk as well as a challenging group exhibition Vice Versa curated by artist Gwynneth Miller, all of which got the mind racing on a variety of contemporary issues. The renovated campus art museum also featured an exciting range of Nataniël pictures captured by his longest serving photographer Clinton Lubbhe

As an extra fillip, there was the celebratory concert of Nataniël and Charl du Plessis’s 25-year collaboration on stage. And as I had witnessed their initial first performances together, this was quite emotional.

To watch two stratospheric artists develop, dissect and model their artistry as they grow and stretch in different ways is unexpected and artistically adventurous.

There’s Du Plessis’s breathtaking exuberance and excellence on piano, the way he shifts between genres and his approach to his longtime stage companion. Nataniël again exhibits his stagecraft, flips easily from text to music, his stories hilariously funny with a hint of melancholy, or on the musical side, surprising everyone with his superb classical training which he hardly ever shares. They are an unbeatable combination with so many years of performance between them.

Aardklop features youth theatre with their Pronk Podium product, which this year invited its most successful writer/director/producer to present his latest work Doolhof together with the NWU Kampustoneel winner Diereryk  directed and written by Pierre-André Viviers, cleverly based on Animal Far.

Every year I am thrilled and struck by the quality of the productions and everyone’s artistry involved. For future artists, this is unequalled training ground and for audiences the ideal opportunity to see how young artists tell their stories and what to expect in the future.

At future festivals, remember to watch out for this special section.

I could go on and on, I even made a turn at the market, something I never do, but I wanted to surprise my favourites at home with some specialty snacks.

As always it was a festival with feisty and fabulous fare on every level.

And the winners for the annual Aardklop festival awards are:

  • Best Actress: Elzabé Zietsman for Routrip
  • Best Actor: Wilhelm van der Walt for Seun
  • Best Director: Nico Scheepers for Seun
  • Best Overall Production: Seun
  • Award for most innovative work: The Scullery Quintet: Stir-fried Sonatas
  • Visual Art: Best Exhibition: Corpus Naturae, Jaco van Schalkwyk
  • Best Music-driven Production: Amanda Strydom: The incredible journey of Tinkerbell van Tonder
  • Best Classical Music performance: Road Trip Rhythms
  • Best Musical-driven performance: The Scullery Quintet
  • Hartsvriende Beste Produksie: Seun
  • Best new Afrikaans Script: Nataniël for NATANIËL + CHARL = 25
  • Best Production: Drama: Seun
  • Knockout Award: Alfred Adriaan: Positive Strokes
  • Extra Mile: Riaan Rademan (Technical project manager for Blond Productions)

THE EXUBERENTLY ENERGETIC ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER MORE ROMP THAN REVOLUTIONARY TALE

~ debeernecessities

DIANE DE BEER reviews Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest movie screened at Ster-Kinekor theatres around the country:

Teyana Taylor as Perrfidia, the eternal revolutionary

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

CAST: Leo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Benicio del Toro

Living in these unsettling times when nobody knows what they will wake up to every morning in so many parts of the world, it is fascinating to see how artists are going to interpret something so personal and yet so beyond anything anyone could have imagined.

If you take previous movies like Boogie Nights, Magnolia and There will Be Blood, with their intent and in their diversity, Anderson’s decision to tackle the life he currently finds himself in, is not surprising. Neither is his approach.

Taking Thomas Pynchon’s ‘80s novel Vineyard (according to production notes) as his starting point, he writes a script so daringly in-your-face yet anchored by a father/daughter love story and electrifies this helter-skelter caper-like tale with a fantastic cast and a pace that leaves you breathless from the start to finish.

Making his attentions clear from the start, two of the strangest revolutionaries explode onto the screen as they shoot their way through an immigration centre to free the victims while simultaneousloy, disabling their viciously fierce, military captors.

With raucous music and an exuberantly energetic, romantically charged couple participating in the escape, it plays like a merry romp rather than a deathly revolution, quite reminiscent of the hippies in the ‘60s.

Chase Infiniti as the daughter of revolutionary active parents faces Regina Hall

And that sets of a chain of events which races through causes and time shifting in giant-sized leaps with the young revolutionaries suddenly parents even though their activities don’t diminish and again as mother is torn apart from father and baby, the child turns into an accomplished scholar raised by her now drug and alcohol drenched dad who spends all his time doting on his darling daughter.

That’s at the heart of the frenetic contemporary tale but into its violent centre strides Colonel Steven J Lockjaw inhabited by a transformed Sean Penn (with the best contemporary remake of a mullet ever as seen above) who immerses himself in his right-wing tin soldier on a crusade to turn his country into a white universe ruled by power-demented ageing white men.

As these stories go, his hormones are unstoppable at the sight of Perfidia and even though he is a monstrous racist, he cannot resist her and starts to stalk her.

She however is committed to the resistance which is how he lands on the trail of Bob (DiCaprio, pictured above) and his now 16-year-old daughter Willa while catching a whiff of his addictive sexual attraction every once in a while.

The rest of the film is as promised one battle after another as father and daughter spend their lives evading their deadly predator while leading seemingly normal lives even though they have escape tunnels and technical devices which speak only to each other.

The film is packed from top to bottom and one side to another. It stretches every way and catapults back and forth to get a hold of the story and everything Anderson embroiders and stictches into his contemporary political tale.

Yet none of this is obvious as you are taken on a madcap adventure with some of the best action scenes and acting you will ever see. DiCaprio’s Bob reminds one of his character in The Wolf of Wall Street, only it’s a few decades on, he acknowledges his brain is fried from decades of abuse and what is left, is a laid-back dad who is happy as long as he is high and his daughter is happy.

Keeping him calm is Benicio del Toro’s sensei (pictured above), who is as cool as he is calm and the one who watches over his charges as if they are precious artefacts. He has manufactured a secret city within a city where he and his followers can escape when the crazy people start descending and some of the best chase scenes – on foot and in cars – will take you on a spree you have never encountered in film. James Bond can only dream of these kind of escapes.

But even as you run along and together as fast as you can (almost with a hop, skip and a jump) with the ragtag collection of what the rulers of their world see as life’s misfits, the politics are deadly serious and nothing to laugh at.

Anderson knows how to get his message across. No use preaching. We all know what is happening around us, the signs are everywhere even if we’re too busy to notice. Catch them with classic comedy and craftmanship and then hit hard with the story you’re really intent on sharing.

And that’s exactly what he does. You might just die laughing.

DISCOVER A RICH VEIN OF CREATIVITY IN THE SLABOLEPSZY HOUSEHOLD

~ debeernecessities

Paul Slabolepszy is one of our most prolific artists, as both playwright and actor. To her surprise, DIANE DE BEER only recently discovered that there are two amazing artists in this family and caught up with both at the closure of Carol Slabolepszy’s latest exhibition:

I first became aware of sculptor Carol Slabolepszy when I went to view a painting exhibition at the Association of Arts Pretoria and discovered what I later learnt was Carol’s exquisite collection titled My Hares and Graces.

I was enchanted and completely unaware that someone I only knew as actor Paul Slab’s wife was such an amazing sculptor. And when I say knew I mean that, having seen her for decades accompanying Paul to plays, she was familiar to me.

But now that I have been blessed to meet another artist in the family, it was a delight to find out more about this creative couple’s life. This is Carol’s second creative endeavour. She spent seven years dancing professionally with CAPAB and PACT Ballet in her early years and it was during this time that she met her husband of 40 plus years. They also have three children.

She has always had an artistic bent but with a burgeoning family what also motivated her was to be economically active. She decided to study art as a mature student, and it took some time for her to find her true passion, sculpting. “I was painting at the time and, while I was a good painter, I wasn’t an extraordinary painter.” She wanted to do something she could reproduce while working in a way that would be, for her, more cutting edge.

Where she has found her niche is in the animal kingdom, specifically with her magical hares Although there’s also the rest of her ever-growing menagerie – she makes the most wonderful cats, Pangolins, and Meerkats, a few specific dogs, sometimes for a mourning pet owner. But when you witness her husk of hares (14 different ones), you can’t help but lose your heart.

It all began when she was looking for something that was manageable in size due to space constraints but, ever practical with a specific goal in mind, it should be able to travel easily.  She also invests in narrative and has strong and happy memories of the Karoo and seeing hares darting in the car headlights at night.

While the hares are all part of a series, each one is made individually and implanted with its very own microchip with an identity number and a letter of authentication. “They don’t just pop out of a machine,” she says. But that is easily visible when you encounter this lively bunch.

Each one has its own personality and name: Lalela – The Listener, Moongazer, Ready Steady… Go!, Hare Apparent, Mvundla (isiXhosa for hare), Cambalele (isiZulu for sleepy and relaxed), uNogwaja (isiZulu for hare), Mpho (isiZulu for gift), uMoya (isiZulu for spirit), Thinker, Nwaya (isiZulu for itch) and Matasatasa, (isiZulu for busy), Bheka and Dancer.

And that’s exactly what first catches your attention. These are hares with identity and probably that’s how they find their rightful owners. And that doesn’t seem a problem for Carol. Her latest consignment is for a Belgian Gallery which has ordered 98 sculptures. What caught their attention were these hares with souls!

A percentage of the sales of her hares is donated to the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Riverine Rabbit Project.

But this is by far not the end of her reach. Do yourself a favour and browse through her My Hares and Graces website. (https://myharesandgraces.co.za) Don’t miss her archives and see that you scroll right to the bottom to catch a glimpse of her own favourite ‘canvas’.

She describes it as “painting/quilt/castle/cave/mosaic/river/mountain sculpture. Four stone masons became my paint brushes together with a man making the cement (doing the rough stuff) while I directed them and put some pieces of stone in myself, here and there. The making of this Wall gave me enormous pleasure and gives me pure joy looking at it. I don’t have a seascape or a mountain scape but this canvas is as close as I can get and it constantly changes with the light of the day. When it rains the water flows over it like a waterfall.”

I was delighted to discover the sculptures of Carol Slabolepszy and to see the majestic range of her art was magnificent and just adds to the richness of this artist’s creativity.

Because of my strong ties with local theatre, it was Paul whom I contacted to express my surprise about discovering Carol’s work. We arranged to meet when they came to fetch her sculptures following the closure of the exhibition.

He was also on my list for a chat because his latest smash hit Bitter Winter is due for a run at both the Hilton Arts Festival (August 8 – 10) and Potchefstroom’s  Aardklop (October 7 – 12).

I loved the play when it made its debut in Joburg last year, and like everyone else, raved about the production. What Paul did so cleverly was to write about something (as he always does) that he knows intimately – two actors auditioning for a play.

It was written during Covid, a scary time for everyone but especially in the acting world, which is a precarious career choice without something like a pandemic adding to their often tough livelihood.

As he tells it, it was a talk by Lizz Meiring in her role as warrior for the Theatre Benevolent Fund that started his mind racing on this latest play. He is part of the ageing theatre community and is aware of just how difficult it is to make a living from the arts.

He also knows how scary auditions can be. “It’s not just something you can switch on,” he says of performance. “And as you walk in you spot another actor who is perfect for the part you’re hoping for.”

But still, they learn to deal with the fear and how to work a situation. And it is exactly this that Bitter Winter deals with.

As I wrote in my review, (https://bit.ly/4jPBGy9 ) anyone who knows about theatre recognizes this daunting yet challenging situation. Yet not many of us are faced with this particular hurdle every time we need to work.

And while actors simply have to accept and work with their fear, as we also know, there’s not that much one can do to alleviate those jangling nerves in what can only be described as a heightened experience which comes around every so often.

Starring Andre Odendaal (pictured right), Oarabile Ditsele (left) and Chantal Stanfield, Bitter Winter is an extremely clever play on many levels. It’s something everyone can relate to. And that has always been Paul’s gift.

There’s a raw but real quality to his storytelling in a language that he has shaped and refined in his own special.

Watching and listening to him talk, I think of his enthusiasm and excitement over the years. Whether on or off stage, he remains exactly who he always is. Thrilled about this latest success, he can hardly wait to tell me that he is already busy writing a new play.

Titled Midnight in Parys, Paul describes it as a thriller, and as with most of his work, he reaches into his past, something he remembers, and comes up with a play that touches audiences because of its authenticity and its characters who seem to represent people we know.

My curiosity was rewarded and all I wish for this creative couple is that they never stop dreaming. I know they never will.

https://myharesandgraces.co.za

THERE’S NO WAY OF STOPPING THE CREATIVE NATANIËL, AN ARTIST CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE

~ debeernecessities ~ 1 Comment

Nataniël is on the go – again – and it was time for DIANE DE BEER to pop in and find out more about upcoming shows, events and anything else happening in this prolific artist’s life:

What is keeping him up at night and awake at the crack of dawn is the work on his latest podcast series, which has become yet another of his performance features since his first series a while back. Kwessie van die Dag, his brand-new video column, starts on August 4 on Netwerk24.

As with anything he does, Nataniël approaches these latest podcasts with everything he’s got. “It’s as much work as a TV series,” he notes. And for this perfectionist, it is. He simply cannot do things haphazardly, with quality a constant taskmaster.

He is aware that everybody has turned to podcasts and his will be the best. This isn’t boasting because he is genius when it comes to storytelling. There’s no competing with this conversationalist.

It is all about the words which he has to learn by heart – 3 000 a week! They are his words, he has written each one, but then he has to get them tripping off the tongue. While it comes easily, he believes in scripts and knows exactly what he has to do and how he wants it to sound. So while there are many copycats, few can master him at his craft.

I often see pieces written by “Nataniël”, but it’s easy to spot when someone tries to capture his style because it is so unique. And this is where his podcast will pass with flying colours. “I don’t like waffling,” he says as he launches an attack on what he has labelled “electronic pollution”!

“There’s enough rubbish around.” He has an opinion which his followers will be familiar with, but he also loves facts when he is dealing in a specific subject. One of the many hurdles is the battle of language. He will be speaking in Afrikaans and to capture a language in this way is fraught with many pitfalls especially the way we mix our languages in our daily conversations.

It is clear that this is his latest challenge but also part of the excitement that charges his existence.

He is always busy creating and many of the things might seem as though they have a familiar pattern which, if you study them, they don’t. Into that mix, he is also constantly injecting new accomplishments which keep him on his toes.

“Everyone invites me to be a guest on their podcasts.” But for him there is a specific reason to engage with people in this fashion. “I want to address issues and for me it is about inspiration.”

BOEK • BYBEL • BIOSKOOP is the title of the show he is doing with organist Zorada Termmingh, a friend from varsity, together with his accompanist, pianist Charl du Plessis. Knowing something about his creative mind, he will be pulling all their respective talents together in a spectacular bouquet.

We’re in August and it is all about women. Composers, writers, singers, designers, as well as timeless characters from movies, classic literature, Biblical tales, art and theatre are their inspiration in this colourful show full of stories and songs. Zorada and Nataniël have performed on stage many times, starting during their student years. Charl has been his accompanist (apart from establishing his own career as a solo artist and performing with the Charl du Plessis Trio) for the past 25 years. And this is not the first outing for this trio of consummate performers.

It is a one-off in the capital city on August 13 at 7pm and the Ned Geref Universiteitsoord Kerk. The show is 90 minutes (more or less) long.

In September he returns to one of his most ambitious projects, Mass for the Good Princes (recently released on CD), which will be performed in the Cape for the first time thanks to the goodwill of the Atterbury Trust.

It’s a double whammy for Nataniël –  one of both joy and hysteria. This was one of those accomplishments he had dreamt of for a very long time. Writing it was an almost impossible feat with his kind of schedule, and with each performance he has to once again memorise the Latin text, which is a killer.

This will be the 3rd time that he attempts this daunting exercise and while it stretches even his seemingly limitless determination, he can’t resist it. It is based on the classical structure of a Latin church mass with a sacred composition by Nataniël in six parts which includes a prayer for goodness, new leadership and the hope of a new generation. It will be sung in English and Latin with descriptions and translations in Afrikaans.

It will be presented at the Ned Geref Welgemoed Church on Saturday September 20 at 5pm. He will be joined by the Charl du Plessis Trio (Charl with Werner Spies and Peter Auret) as well as organist Ockie Vermeulen, guitarist Luke van der Merwe and the Akustika Chamber Choir led by Christo Burger.

In March this year, Nataniël and Charl celebrated 25 years on stage together and they seal this with a Gala Concert at Aardklop – on October 7 (7pm) and October 8 (10 am) in the University of Potchefstroom Auditorium.

This won’t be an ordinary concert. These two artists haven’t only shared 25 years on stage and many kilometres of travel through the South African countryside for one-off shows, but this was also the start of Charl’s stage career, which has been quite stunning to witness from the start – one he has since established both nationally and internationally – a feat for someone who started out as a classical pianist (one of the most difficult careers to pursue) and accompanist. Today he has a doctorate and is celebrated as both a classical and jazz artist. I can’t wait to see these two face off on stage on equal footing. For those fortunate enough to see one of these concerts, I predict something unique.

Nataniël is already making promises that this won’t be a rundown of what they have already accomplished. They will be celebrating today and tomorrow. “Who are we now and how do we see the future” will be their aim.

“Why would we return to the past? That’s done and we have all been there.” And in typical Nataniël fashion he predicts: “I want to hear an intake of breath when I walk on stage!”

As he so astutely confirms, it will be 70 years of experience when the two of them mark their stage partnership.

While talking partnerships and friendships, one of his closest friends, actress/comedian Marion Holm, will be interviewing Nataniël on his latest book of short stories titled Sweetie. Book discussions aren’t his favourite, but if he has to do it, Marion would be his choice. “She can physically shut me up just by barking.” You’ll have to be there to understand exactly what that means. They go way back and to experience these two like-minded actors sparring verbally, you don’t want to miss that. They’re a scream individually, together it’s an exuberance.

Your ticket will be a copy of Sweetie which can either be bought before the time or at the Exclusive Pop-Up in the book tent. The first 200 people with a book in hand will be allowed into the space, which will be closed off for this event. You won’t be able to listen in on the sidelines. The Sweetie discussion is going to be that exclusive and is happening on October 8 at 3pm at Aardklop.

And it’s not over yet by a long stretch. A photographer who for more than two decades documented Nataniël’s career, Clinton Lubbe, who immigrated a few years back, is back in town for an exhibition of life-size Nataniël pictures titled Parade, another first for Aardklop. Their collaboration has also been running for more than two decades and Nataniël describes Clinton’s camera as a paintbrush, because of the way he creates pictures. They’re not simply pictures, they’re artworks, he notes. “I’m going to be the Naomi Campbell of Aardklop,” he says with a smile and a wink.

Finally, but just for the moment, there’s his latest production, Catch Me, Love, which will be staged at Artscape from November 13 to 16. He is already busy writing, which is unheard of. He usually works on his scripts much closer to his performance than a few months, but looking at his schedule, he knew he had to get ahead.

This one is going to be visually and structurally different to his former shows, he says. And although it is still early days, I know he has already dreamt and planned it in detail. It will only feature in Gauteng in the New Year because in-between there’s the promise of a French countryside holiday, his annual escape (when he can manage) to one of his favourite places, which is what motivates him these days.

Watch this space for fresh announcements or changes. They will be coming …

SAVIOUR OF DEMOCRACY OR DESTINED TO DISAPPOINT IN A COUNTRY RAVAGED BY WAR?

~ debeernecessities

DIANE DE BEER

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Gontse Ntshegang as Grace, Craig Jackson as the psychiatrist and Farai Chigudu as the bodyguard with Themba Ndaba as Robert Mugabe.

PICTURES: Ngoma KaMphahlele

BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE by FRASER GRACE

DIRECTOR: Calvin Ratladi

PLAYWRIGHT: Fraser Grace

SET DESIGNER: Wilhelm Disbergen

COSTUME DESIGNER: Sheli Masondo

LIGHTING DESIGNER: Denis Hutchinson

CULTURAL DRAMATURGE: Professor Samuel Ravengai

MUSIC: Matthew Macfarlane

ACCENT COACH: Louise-Saint Claire

 CAST: Themba Ndaba as Mugabe, Gontse Ntshegang as Grace, Craig Jackson as Andrew Peric and Farai Chigudu as Gabriel

VENUE: Mannie Manim at the Market Theatre

DATES: until August 10

If you are intrigued by the title, this is a play you will want to see. With the name Robert Mugabe having special meaning in South Africa, neighbouring country to Zimbabwe, it was a packed buzzy audience in attendance, always a joy to behold in an industry that’s constantly in battle.

If you google the number of Zimbabweans living in South Africa, they are described as the largest group of foreign migrants in the country. “Some estimates suggest the number could be as high as 3 to 5 million.”  And it goes on to say that the influx is primarily due to economic hardship and instability in Zimbabwe.

South Africans will all have some opinion of what occurred in Zimbabwe. Mugabe is still an enigma to many because he started as a saviour in the new democracy in 1980 in a country which was ravaged by civil war. The education system alone can attest to that.

Yet, because of the ambiguities, political perspectives and where you come from will come into play when watching this fierce production. If you are expecting answers to the many questions you might have, what you get is a view of the complications of a system which so clearly exposes the cliché, “you cannot please all of the people all of the time”.

What you have is a deeply troubled man haunted by his actions as a political leader of a country that lay in ruins yet full of hope for a new dawn. The action is heightened from the start as Grace Mugabe (his second wife) has summoned a white psychologist to see her husband. What unfolds all happens in hushed tones, with people looking over their shoulders waiting for some kind of menace.

A man who was born to intimidate, Mugabe’s bodyguard, is hovering and watching in constant attendance. A jittery wife at first seems worried about her distressed husband, yet as she almost pounces on her guest, it is clear that she is much more concerned with her own wellbeing as Shopper of the Nation (which is clearly and most deliciously displayed in her glitzy attire) and wants to make sure her own position isn’t threatened. She is after all a secretary, who switched to sycophantic wife.

What happens next is like a thriller unspooling in almost Shakespearean fashion. Present are Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace, an English psychiatrist and the ever present bodyguard. The tone is set by an obviously agitated and deeply paranoid leader who, even though haunted by the past, is intent on dissembling reality.

The cast is astounding, from Ndaba’s resolved Mugabe and Jackson’s bewildered yet embattled psychiatrist to the staunch bodyguard portrayed by Chigudu and the glorious Ntshegang, who masterfully displays Grace’s Machiavellian traits as she plays everyone differently.

The writing is a masterpiece. First written at the turn of the century, its relevance seems heightened in today’s world where unfettered power is displayed and celebrated with such candour and even pride. But it’s the way playwright Fraser Grace tackles all the issues, explores the ruthlessness of the regime and manages to stand aside from the writing that makes this hair-raising yet compulsive viewing.

Perhaps it takes someone from such a distance, almost unattached, to tackle such momentous events with such a clearcut vision.  He writes vividly in the Guardian about his own experiences, and it is worth reading for further clarity. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/jul/23/play-breakfast-with-mugabe-market-theatre-johannesburg-fraser-grace.

Well done to Greg Homann and The Market for staging this work and for the passion of director Calvin Ratladi, Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre who held onto his dream of directing this play one day and grabbed the opportunity when he had the chance.

He knew exactly how and with whom it should be told.

FRIEDA VAN DEN HEEVER IS A BRILLIANT ARTIST WITH A MISSION WHO KNOWS HOW TO STAGE A MESMERISING SHOW

~ debeernecessities ~ 2 Comments

Frieda van den Heever is an artist who understands how to communicate and how best to express herself and show her world on stage. DIANE DE BEER shares some of the artistry of this amazing woman who will be performing in Pretoria for the first time this week

“What we love about music is not that it sounds good. What we love about music is that it sounds inevitable. It’s playing the thing that we all know is unfolding. Whether we want to accept it or not …”

Jon Batiste (American Symphony)

This is the quote artist Frieda van den Heever sent me when we started a conversation on email.

I became aware of her as a producer. She was mostly involved with poetry-driven productions, but what I noticed was the sensibility of what is a very tough stage production.

How do you get people to attend poetry productions at a festival where there is so much on the go? But she did and she knew how.

She describes herself as a novice who preaches, because she studied drama not theology. She explains that in Springbok, where she grew up, they called it people’s church when a normal person preached because the preacher couldn’t be there.

“I have been doing it for almost 14 years, and no one has ever asked for my credentials,” she says. Having encountered her on stage, I understand why.

She is part of InVia congregation in Cape Town and describes this community as a group of people who love music and people. Her father was a minister and while she spent most of her free hours as a child in his study rather than on her own, she never thought that she would either enter the church or become a musician like her mother. “I had spent enough time in churches with music in my ears for a lifetime,” was what she thought.

Still, when she read something impactful she always caught herself speaking rather than just reading that passage. She simply couldn’t escape and then there was a time when she didn’t want to any longer. It has always been a juggling game, because it wasn’t something she could practise fulltime. But she missed theatre.

She believes in the power of stories, fables, poetry and metaphors. “Both theology and theatre navigate a place beyond knowledge, something like mysticism, and tell stories that often hold warm truths rather than cold facts,” she explains.

The part of her work that she favours most is what she describes as “accompanying rituals”, including marriages, funerals, christenings and the like. She regards it as her calling to add to the honouring of these events. It’s not that she participates only in religious ceremonies; she is often involved when people aren’t particularly interested in a church but still have a need for some kind of ritual which they share with their loved ones.

She also presents talks and retreats for congregations or groups of people who approach her. These are creative workshops specifically for women, but she stresses, “it has nothing to do with pancakes, crochet and tea parties.”

She knows these certainly have a place, but for her it is about togetherness, breathing, chanting, laughing and crying.

That’s just the beginning of all her activities. She is also involved in yoga and the transformation that ensues and has a deep fascination with people and how they struggle and survive. And while she would have loved to study psychology, a lack of time made her opt for an intensive 14-month course in integral coaching which will be incorporated in her other work.

And still, she keeps going. Once a week, she travels to Stellenbosch, her alma mater, and teaches cabaret facilitating the practical execution and texts of the honours students in the US Drama Department . As a student of the legendary Marthinus Basson, she is delighted that she can pass on her experience to a younger generation.

There’s also her radio work which started on small scale, but her talents were quickly recognized. And she still benefits from her innovative moves during Covid which resulted in her producing programmes in the basement of her home.

That led to her producing most of her radio and television work in her home. It means that she doesn’t have to spend too much time away from her children and allows her to do much of that work early in the morning. “It all happens before the children and the cars have to wake,” she says.

I’m breathless and haven’t yet come to her performance, which is really what I want to promote.

On Wednesday at 7pm, Frieda will be performing at the Fairtree Atterbury Theatre in Lynnwood, Pretoria for the first time in a magnificent production, Spoorsny (tracking) .

“I really went into grief. I sensed that I had to go in if I wanted to come out. I don’t mean that I’m perfect now, but I’ve been through the perfect storm and that moulds one to find more light because I was mining the darkness. I can sense, I almost want to say I can smell light and when I sense it I look for it everywhere. The material for my debut album came from a show I did on what would have been the night of Leon’s (Kruger) 50th birthday. (He had died very suddenly in 2021) I saw the Woordfees was during that time and I didn’t know on which date I was going to perform and then when they sent me the date, I went for it to really celebrate him with this work and this script. I could have gone to sit somewhere in the quiet and the dark which isn’t wrong, I have done it. But for that night I wanted to share what was left of me, so that it could multiply and I’m grateful for that.”

Frieda van den Heever – Spoorsny: Frieda van den Heever – Spoorsny – Seatme

Her previous productions as director, Die Poet – Wie’s Hy?, Die Oerkluts Kwyt and Met Woorde Soos Kerse all shared a particular sensibility that made me aware of a rare director at work. She knows she didn’t have the technical experience, but her affinity with poetry and performance outweighed anything else. I didn’t notice any imperfections with any of those mind-blowing shows.

She works with love, a fine-tuned ear and excellent evalution. Also, part of the package was a childlike “unknowing”, an unwavering belief in the collective intelligence and the process, endless curiosity as well as an excellent production team and artists. Her motto was to always be present in the process. Whatever the requirements, it worked.

If you’re crying halt, there’s more. For 10 years she has been involved in a process with farm workers who boast magnificent voices. Each year she selects 10 of the best and offers them the opportunity to learn and to show off their talent. “I try to bring each individual something, give some of my experience, but I can’t teach them anything about singing. I have worked with voices that compare with the best in the world and it is a burning passion to create more platforms to showcase these voices.”

Her own musical talent, writing and composing songs and performing, has never been the only thing she wants to rely on to make a living. She wanted to be a free spirit when going on stage.

She is much more of a homebody than someone who wants to be out there but she also has a need to be challenged by the alchemy of a live performance. She obviously has a blueprint when she goes on stage, but she also reads the room and has the talent to shape her performance in different ways.

If she had a choice, she would write songs, play music, dance and jam with other voices and instruments all day long. “That feels like the best and most unvarnished version of myself,” she concedes.

To my mind, that is exactly who we watch and listen to during a performance of Spoorsny.

But let me give wordsmith Frieda van den Heever the last word: “The sudden death of my husband in 2021 and the impact of mortality and loss give perspective to everything I do and am. I am much more than a widow and single mom, but it gives context to my decisions and relationships, the spaces I find myself in and how I engage with people. The raw material which emerged in my debut album Skoonveld and formed the platform for the stage show Spoorsny as well as the anthology (published by NB) ‘n Asem Lank says everything about my search for meaning and light.”

MAGIC ON STAGE IN THE MOON LOOKS DELICIOUS FROM HERE

~ debeernecessities

REVIEW BY DIANE DE BEER

Pictures: Hoek Swaratlhe

THE MOON LOOKS DELICIOUS FROM HERE

WRITTEN AND PERFORMED: Aldo Brincat

DIRECTOR: Sjaka September

VENUE: Market Theatre

DATES: July 27

DURATION: 70 minutes

In the programme notes online it says that this play is a masterclass in writing and performance – and that is exactly what it is. And the aspects that I found most intriguing as being a born South African, I have been dealing and watched others sharing their trauma in this country for many decades.

Some similarities especially in text will occur, but I am passionate about people creating theatre – especially solo theatre.

Having to travel from Pretoria for most of my theatre, I consider very carefully which plays I want to see whether good or bad, just work that will appeal to me. And this is where theatre sometimes becomes problematic. If you are going to see a play that is 70 minutes long, it becomes a money issue. It has to. Time and travel become a worry.

So I have started coming up with fresh solutions to make my choices easier. With this one, I had already booked for a new musical opening and I thought I could slip this short prodcution into the mix without any difficulty. I see many more plays on one day when attending a festival. And that is what I did and will do more of in the future when the problem rears its head.

Brincat, who is a first generation South African, is described in many different ways and with many accomplished skills from acting, juggling and magic artistry to fine art, chef, writing and producing one-man shows, it seems.

But this is my first encounter as far as I can tell with this versatile artist. As he’s based in Cape Town and visits the National Arts Festival, while I am based in Pretoria and cover the Afrikaans festivals around the country, his work is unfamiliar to me.

The Moon Looks Delicious from Here is a man’s struggle with identity and finding his own place in what should be his world but isn’t always that straightforward is what he shares and struggles with.

It is familiar territory stretching from the ‘60s tot ’94, but it’s always interesting to discoverhow other people deal with issues that come up for many of us in different ways. It is also fascinating to see how others approach their work, especially when at play, as solo shows  can be limiting, depending on the content and how familiar you are with the subject.

He had me from beginning to end; engaging with his audience wasn’t an issue for him even with a most unusual mix on a Sunday afternoon. Half of the 100-plus theatre audience (and I’m guessing numbers) were elderly white couples and the other half were young (between 20 and 35) Black men and women. And throughout there was laughter from different quarters. It was a journey of remembrance for oldies and probably one of illumination for youngsters.

It would have been fascinating to have an audience talk after the show in this instance. This is Brincat sticking his toe in the water and it feels good. Hopefully he will be back so that we can get to know more of his work and his content.

THE BLACK CIRCUS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BANTU IS ORIGINAL, LIFE CHANGING AND A JOY TO BEHOLD

~ debeernecessities

REVIEW BY DIANE DE BEER:

THE BLACK CIRCUS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BANTU

ARTIST: Albert Ibokwe Khoza

DIRECTOR: Princess Zinzi Mhlongo

DATES: June 26, 27, 28, 29

VENUE: Mannie Mannim Theatre at The Market

It’s explosive, it’s engaging, it plays with your mind (stretching it this way and that), it’s mesmerising, it sweeps your whole being along and most of all, it’s original and creative in a way that heightens all the senses. And then it shows you everything theatre can be.

Khoza is a presence not only with the theatricality of their costumes but especially with the way they move, speak, sing, chant and engage their audience from start to finish. There’s no time for your mind to wander or wonder, you’re simply in the moment as you participate in this experience that for most of us would be completely unique.

It’s ritual and rhythm, it’s engaging your whole being. This isn’t something you‘re watching, you’re participating on a level that is here and now. It’s theatre-in-the round with the performer, the one who is leading the way on this exploration of the past where human zoos and exhibitions in Western societies, our societies, turned people into curiosities to be paraded and exploited for the delight of white fetish. That is even difficult to write after seeing this play.

Especially for those of us on the oppressors’ side, while we gasp in horror at the stories, we know what our race has done to people because of the colour of their skin, have seen many plays and read many books about those times, yet, sadly it remains just that. It’s not as though your body can viscerally experience what that must have been like. It’s something that white people to this day never experience. They simply don’t have to navigate a world that plays by rules made for them … still.

How many times have you as a white body thought about how anything that you do on a specific day will be determined by the colour of your skin? Think of Trump’s world in today’s context for example. People are being rounded up and deported even with citizenship because of the way they look.

Khoza suggests that it is a history that is not spoken about and which they are determined to address so that those affected can reclaim, reflect and confront themselves as people. Because it is something that continues to this day, for them it is about the need for spiritual healing and reclaiming violated dignities.

The one thing all of us have felt in our lives is humiliation. For many it is an occasional thing that can be quickly discarded as you move on with your life. For others it is an institutionalized part of their life and there’s no escaping. The only requisite to fall prey to this is the colour of your skin. Everything in our lives to this day is determined by this. Think Black Lives Matter.

It is described as an installation-based performance and for me personally, it was as though my whole body had suddenly been awakened. I felt alerted to the way the world works. Was there anything said that I hadn’t heard before or didn’t know? How many times have I not experienced the Saartjie Baartman story, a woman torn from her family, stripped of her identity as a human being, taken from Africa to Europe and displayed for the Western world to view in a human zoo? We know and sympathise about the atrocities of the past. And again we wonder about those happening all around us, because they’re still there.

What The Black Circus does is change the perspective; it inhabits your body and soul in a way that takes you the the heart of the atrocities. For Khozait is a place of collective healing where the shackles are discarded, and a spiritual connection established.

It’s a difficult experience to write about because it is one to experience rather than to analyse. You want to enter the space knowing just the title.

At the beginning I felt as though I was sitting in a glorious painting. A story of some kind was going to unfold and as with most theatre, I was excited. What I got was so much more. It was unexpected, challenging in the way theatre should be, explosive in performance and presentation, and something that has changed my life. And that is what theatre should be.

I will be looking at and facing the world diffently.