Diane de Beer
IT’A a tough one when you get to the end of a festival, having seen 47 productions in 11 days and you’re trying to capture the essence of a festival. We all know that depending on your needs and choices, it will be different things to different people. My personal objective was to catch as much theatre (and a few others I can’t resist) as possible, and try to extrapolate what and how our artists are doing.
And gloriously, even – or especially – in these tough times, they are the ones who shine their light brightest. How can one not be enchanted with the Young Artist (Theatre) Christiaan Olwagen who, apart from writing his own work for previous acclaimed shows, has also lost his heart to the classics?
Not only that, he plays with a contemporary eye and speaks in his generation’s voice. It’s refreshing and adds nuance for older audiences, while opening the windows for those seeing it for the first time.
Those who have witnessed this brilliant young artist’s progress (catch Wie’s Bang vir Virginia Woolf? with subtitles at The Fugard in the next few weeks) will recognise his brave casting choices, which pay off for the production and audiences.
Jennifer Steyn is an extraordinary Nora who dazzles from her light-enshrined entrance, which also states the intent of her power.
Because she feels shackled, she will use all her wiles as she and her distracted husband Torvald (Martin le Maitre) meet the demands of their non-verbal marriage contract. It’s delicious to watch these actors at play as the music and revolving doors all bring layers to an already dense yet accessible play.
Even more abandon from Steyn in the dancing will add to her manic existence as she reels from one deception to another – anything from eating chocolates to defrauding signatures – while the people around her are manipulated and managed to feed her life.
It’s a sad and sorry affair, but beautifully adapted with a supporting cast that encourages and holds this story in a way that’s exciting to watch. Personally, I could have done without the animal apparitions as they cluttered rather than embraced the story.
Olwagen was blessed with this opportunity because he had to crash through the Afrikaans barriers in a country where there is still division in our so small artistic world. All the voices need to be heard and here he could reach far and wide with not only the production but also the cast. He knew he wanted to work in English and with an English and unfamiliar cast. He pulled it off with exuberance.
Catch this one at next year’s Woordfees in Stellenbosch.
It stole my heart, but there were many as we dipped into the lives of others, which is what theatre and storytelling do so well.
Disabilities played a more prominent role than in the past, as a disabled writer for Cue, the festival newspaper, pointed out while pleading for a more educated citizenry. Theatre is a wonderful way to go, with I n The Wings hitting a double whammy while tackling the hurdles of living with spina bifida and duping the audience by using an able-bodied actress to do so. It raised all kinds of questions as well as awareness.
In a community-based group of deaf students from the Free State, they don’t only challenge the world about their particular language (“we don’t have a disability, we speak a different language,” they say), but also battle those who refuse to pay attention to squatters and their constant fight to find a space to live.
It’s not about making those in comfortable homes uncomfortable, it’s about survival.
And again it is the knock-on effect of the deafness and the dumbness of those more fortunate that drives their story and stirs your heart. Instead of complaining about unemployment, this is a lament about dealing with being destitute and disabled.
Not being able to hear (and walk) is also at the heart of Unmute, Andile Vellum’s dance that stretches his dancers in ways that’s extraordinary to experience. Wheelchairs become much more than a mode of transport as the dancers seem to attach and grow extra limbs and limberness as they tell a story of such beauty, it leaves you breathless.
In all these instances, disability becomes a driving force as they join an arts community in blazing colour while taking their rightful place.
Two sons (Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in A Man and A Dog and Tony Miyambo in The Cenotaph of Dan wa Moriri) told stories of their fathers in ways that tapped into everyone’s personal memories, and in a manner that stripped all the artifice for true authenticity.
That’s a word that surfaced all over the place, but artistry is the one that adds sparkle to the festival. Solo performances like that of Godfrey Johnson in Vaslav, that sends the artist over the edge to capture the heartache of a disintegrated Nijinsky in his later life; Canadian Alan Nashman’s extraordinary tribute to fellow countryman and director John Hirsch who screamed and fought for the arts and its sublime existence in Hirsch, a solo show that completely defies solo status; James Cairns for the sheer delight and ingenuity of El Blanco; Red Earth Revisited in a combination of Dutch producers and South African performers to reclaim the story of Nongqawuse in a way that easily stretches across generations; also including other family fare written about as well as another Dutch production, titled Tea, which quite simply had two sisters come together for tea. Such a simple idea, simply, yet sharply told, and it had pre-schoolers screaming with delight, while the complex sibling rivalry tears at some older hearts.
Pondering these past 12 days, there are a few wishes as well including that both Philip Rademeyer ( Ashes) and Phillip Dikotla ( Boy – A Note to a Generation) will work on their powerful scripts that deal with life-threatening issues. They’re already raising awareness and hitting home, but both can become classics if the writing is pared down without being too precious about the words.
And there are many more contenders, including Imagined Land(with a glorious set), the Alan Paton story which worked remarkably well in A Voice I Cannot Silence, but should be stripped of all the side shows which distract; the determined jumping in the off-beat Belgian The Dog Days are Over exploring the role of the arts; soaring performances by Lionel Newton in The Return of Elvis du Pisanie and Patricia Boyer in Miss Margarida’s Way, Nomzamu’s heartfelt tale by the Hillbrow Theatre, the power of forgiveness in Miracle in Rwanda and Ewok’s impassioned plea for an attempt at forgiveness in Yobo.
Let’s see what the coming year brings.
If you’re in Cape Town, go and book tickets for Born in the RSA, which is on at The Baxter Theatre now.