THE Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative’s new work, With nothing but silence they turned their bodies to face the noise, created by PJ Sabbagha and Athena Mazarakis, in collaboration with the company, will be presented on the Main Programme of the National Arts Festival from July 7 to 9 and at the Wits 969 Festival on July 15.

Over the past 22 years The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative (FATC) has earned a reputation for producing challenging work that pushes boundaries and probes pressing social issues.

This new work, funded by the National Lotteries Commission of South Africa (NLC) and commissioned for the National Arts Festival, is a bold response to the historically dense present: a socio-political moment, in our country and the world, on the edge of implosion.

With nothing but silence they turned their bodies to face the noise interrogates who we are now as a country and presents a vocabulary of extreme physicality to capture and reflect on the effects of compacting, intercepting and unresolved patterns of trauma and oppression.

The work was created in response to the National Arts Festival’s call for work that focuses on the relationship between art and disruption. The result is a provocative piece of theatre that daringly disrupts the confines of form and confronts issues of power, control, imbalance and historical legacies head-on.

The work also brings the ever-present realities of environmental degradation into sharp focus and considers an immediate future in which the environment we occupy is an active agent in amplifying the violently imploding present.

With nothing but silence they turned their bodies to face the noise features evocative video work by Jessica Denyschen and is designed by award-winning designer, Sasha Ehlers. The original sound score, designed by the multi-talented Nicholas Aphane, is an innovative and integral part of the work and the commentary that it makes. The work also features lighting design by Thabo Pule.

Catch the show at the Great Hall in Grahamstown at 8 pm on July 7, 12 pm and 6 pm on July 8 and 12 pm on July 9.

Alternatively, you can see it at the Wits Main Theatre at 7.30 pm on July 15. Book at http://www.webtickets.co.za