Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito – UnOwed to Kwaito / Photo: Mark Wessels
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Ekasi Lam – An Ode to Kwaito, Un-Owed to Kwaito presents the point of view that there is no genre closer to an accurate portrait of the township than kwaito. It posits that when closely observed, kwaito – and all its subsequent sub-genres – is the living literature of Johannesburg’s South Western Townships, and every kasi beyond Soweto’s borders.
Writer and director Jefferson Bobs Tshabalala together with musical director Bernett Mlungo use scamtho poetry as a vehicle to tell a unique township story about South African kwaito and how its vast catalogue has offered timeless, nuanced vignettes and a myriad insights into how the majority of Mzansi lives.
Much like hip hop, kwaito is ‘urban poetry’, an agent for social commentary through its lyrics and the statements its practitioners stand for. From points of charged political awareness to engaging with sociological issues, from cultural critique to astute personal introspection, kwaito’s themes and concepts are far reaching and formidable.
Director: J.Bobs Tshabalala Music Composed By: Bernett Mlungo Featured Artists: Simpho Mathenjwa, Mathews Rantsoma, Gugu Dhlamini, Lucky Ndlovu, Kopano Tshabalala Company: Jefferson Bobs Tshabalala
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Sirqus Alfon is the story of a group of friends who started out as street performers and ended up on big stages. Using their personalities as a starting point for drama and physical tension, the performers of Sirqus Alfon weave an infectious spell of unbridled insanity. Chaotic adventure with technical hi-jinx that you have never seen on the stage before makes Sirqus Alfon a unique artistic experience.
Hailing from Sweden, Sirqus Alfon presents I AM SOMEBODY – a unique high-tech musical innovation for the internet generation (and everyone else). Skilfully crafting an interactive comedy performance imbued with rhythm, humour and a touch of magic, they represent a genre entirely of their own in which the audience gets to be the star of the show.
Sirqus Alfon has been touring internationally since 2004 – from Chinese theatres to refugee camps in Palestine to burlesque clubs in New York. They have worked with the Swedish National Touring Theatre, Cirkus Cirkör, and Clowns without Borders. Sirqus Alfon appeared on Season 12 of America’s Got Talent and won the Pick of the Fringe Award at the 2017 Adelaide Fringe.
Featured Artists: Martin Östman, Erik Rosales, Henrik Strindberg Company: Sirqus Alfon
Creators: Martin Östman, Erik Rosales, Henrik Strindberg Outside eye: Hugo Hansén Assistant Choreographer: Sofia Södergård Costume Design: Helena Andersson Makeup Design: Agnes Kenttä Creative Producer: Follow the Rabbit / Josefin Lindberg Photo Credit: Klara Granberg
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Birthing Nureyev is based on the life of Rudolph Nureyev, Russia’s finest dancer who slipped through his keepers’ fingers to defect to the West on 16 June 1961. The work focuses on Nureyev’s dramatic defection and the KGB’s insidious attempts from behind the iron curtain to destroy his career, juxtaposed with his prodigious success in the West. Despite his fame and fortune, Nureyev was shattered when his country of origin denounced him and damningly charged him with high treason. Most disconcerting was his inevitable alienation from his loved ones, and his untimely death due to AIDS-related complications.
Director: Andre Odendaal Written By: Henque Heymans Choreographer: Ignatius van Heerden Company: leftfoot productions
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Siyahluma – Simanye is a group of isiXhosa women who perform traditional music and dance wearing cultural attire. Songs are written in our language and celebrate our heritage, culture and traditions.
Director: Sindiswa Tshafuza Written By: Sindiswa Tshafuza Choreographer: Mr Phikela Music Composed By: Sindiswa Tshafuza Featured Artists: Ntabeni N, Sobekwa N, Maxama N, Qaba D. Company: Siyahluma – simanye
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Join the live audience for this exciting morning TV-show! It’s election season and we have five special guests from across the political spectrum. It is bound to get heated! So, if you enjoy the occasional online rant or some rigorous debate, you’re in for a treat! Or are you?
Director: Loraine Beaton Written By: Loraine Beaton Featured Artists: Philani Mokoena, Ziyanda Mbodla, Jone Oosthuizen, Philangezwi Nxumalo Company: Prompt
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FRUIT follows a fragile life of a little girl called Matlakala in a township ravaged by crime and poverty. Matlakala finds hope in the hopeless situation, she is claiming her innocence back.
Director: Paul Noko Written By: Paul Noko Featured Artists: Matshidiso Mokoteli Company: Sketch production
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SWARM THEORY is a playful theatrical investigation into the possibilities of collective human intelligence. Swarming the streets of Makhanda, an agglomeration of physical performers engage with their environment as a single collaborative organism, exploring the street corners, green spaces and market places of life. Each swarming is unplanned, immediate, dynamic and unique to its ecosystem of sounds, smells, rhythms and people. The swarm manifests a group mind — self sufficient, yet undirected and unpredictable, an adaptive, self-organising critical mass at the edge of chaos.
Created and directed by Well Worn Theatre Co’s Kyla Davis and physical theatre practitioner and theatre maker Daniel Buckland.
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The Eastern Cape Jazz Showcase (Dakawa Jazz Series) is a stunning showcase of the best Eastern Cape jazz talent, presented by the Eastern Cape Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts & Culture. It is an exciting platform that aims to
connect the old with the new, with the programme featuring accomplished jazz artists as well as the up-and-coming ‘new kids on the block’. At #NAF2019, the programme is deeply Afrocentric, and the line-up features artists such as Mandisi Dyantjies, Wandile Mbambeni, Yankee Brothers, Sizwe Yaze, Isingqi Sengingqi as well as other inspiring artists from the Eastern Cape.
Gary Baseman & Toby – The Power of Purr / Photo: Mark Wessels
Gary Baseman & Toby – The Power of Purr / Photo: Mark Wessels
Gary Baseman & Toby – The Power of Purr / Photo: Mark Wessels
Toby – The Power of Purr / Photo: Mark Wessels
Gary Baseman & Toby – The Power of Purr / Photo: Mark Wessels
Gary Baseman & Toby – The Power of Purr / Photo: Mark Wessels
Gary Baseman & Toby – The Power of Purr / Photo: Mark Wessels
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Explore the “Power of Purr” as illuminated by US-based multidisclipinary artist Gary Baseman. In reaction to what the artist sees as his homeland country’s widespread anxiety about a crumbling democracy and growth of diviseness and racism, Baseman gains inspiration and wisdom from his pet companion Blackie the Cat, a long-time muse that inspired iconic Baseman characters ChouChou and Ahwroo who both represent the need for love.
Starting In 2018, The Purr Room presented in Los Angeles and London has shared Blackie’s meditative “triple purr” with thousands, encouraging all to pause, re/focus on goodness, and feel the healing power of purr.
Featured Artists: Gary Baseman Company: Creativate
