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Durban’s bay-side Catalina Theatre, at Wilson’s Wharf, is hosting the Not The Grahamstown Festival. The mini-fest will showcase some of Durban’s theatre productions that are set to play on the 2015 National Arts Festival Fringe.
Its aim is to help offset costs and to assist artists and productions on their journey to South Africa’s biggest arts festival, while offering local theatre goers the opportunity to salute and support home-grown talent.
At 8 pm on Friday, June 19 you can see All Gone, a cautionary tale based on a true-life human drama. Co-scripted by Thami Sikhosana and Bongani Mbatha, directed by Sikhosana and starring Mbatha, the play is a gripping one-hander with a strong moral message. It reflects on how people often miss a golden opportunity to pull themselves up out of hardships and make a better life for themselves. Set in Kokies Tavern in KwaMashu, the drama unfolds in a series of flashbacks.
On Saturday, June 20 at 2 pm is the acclaimed two-hander The Monotonous, presented by Theatre of Human Purpose. Written by Bonginkosi Thwala, directed by Nhlakanipho Gamede and performed by award-winning actors Nzuzo Ngcobo and Thwala, the show tells a story of a master and a servant who are running against time, journeying to meet William’s high school friends in a reunion. Both William and Julius try to leave the house, but too many obstacles arise and it becomes impossible to leave.
At 6 pmis Arach-no-phobia is a collaborative contemporary dance piece staged by Dance Direction International and Youngstar Productions. Choreographed by Des van der Spuy and Gabriel Masango, Arach-no-phobia is built around the premise that we are all spiders and nothing is beyond our reach. We dance a web of conscious creation, weavers of dreams in a community.
And at 8 pm you can catch Clinton Marius’s side-splitting B!*ch Stole My Doek starring Shona Johnson. This raucous satire with a twist, centres around a war of words over a missing item of laundry. It played to acclaim during its debut run at the Catalina and at the Hexagon Theatre in Pietermaritzburg. If you missed it then, book now.
Tickets range from R40 to R60 and booking is through Computicket. Tickets will also be available at the door prior to each performance.
Don’t miss Shona Johnson in B!#ch Stole My Doek at the Catalina Theatre in Durban. Photo: Val Adamson
DID YOU KNOW?
The concept of Not The Grahamstown Festival was first launched in Durban by theatre practitioners Aldo Brincat and Illa Thompson. After a lapse of several years, it was relaunched last year by the Catalina Theatre
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