Author: stelsinkins

Women take centre stage with strong female presence at this year’s National Arts Festival

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This year’s National Arts Festival programme features more women in an effort to amplify female voices in the theatrical, performing and visual arts.

The Festival – which runs from 2 to 12 July – not only features a number of strong and visible women in most genres, but also numerous productions and exhibitions that interrogate and question fixed thinking in relation to gender more broadly.

At the closing of the recent PEN World Voices Festival in New York, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke out against the ‘codes of silence’ that govern American life. “The fear of causing offence, the fear of ruffling the careful layers of comfort, becomes a fetish,” Adichie said.

Practising what she preaches, the award-winning writer recently spoke out against the criminalisation of homosexuality in her home country. But, she told The Guardian: “I have often been told that I cannot speak on certain issues because I am young, and female, or, to use the disparaging Nigerian speak, because I am a “small girl” … I have also been told that I should not speak because I am a fiction writer … But I am as much a citizen as I am a writer.”

Adichie’s critique could equally be levelled at South Africa’s slow burning culture of consent in relation to everyday gender inequities and the often unspoken violence that plagues the lives of many South African women. This year, the National Arts Festival tackles this seam of gender inequality head on.

This focus forms part of the overall thrust of this year’s Festival to bring urgent social matters to light and present material that explores the limits of expressive liberty, provoking audiences and taking them beyond their comfort zones.

“The arts need to challenge and provoke,” says the Festival’s Artistic Director, Ismail Mahomed – and that includes provocation in relation to the most intimate questions of gender identity, sexuality and power relations.

More female artists have been consciously featured in the 2015 programme in an effort to amplify female voices in the theatrical, performing and visual arts. Among the many female writers, directors, performers, curators and trailblazing artists across all genres appearing at this year’s National Arts Festival, some of the leading lights include:

  • Tara Louise Notcutt is involved in seven productions at NAF2015, not least ‘Three Blind Mice’ (Rhodes Box, Monday, July 6, Tuesday, July 7 and Wednesday, July 8 July at 3pm and 8pm daily). Notcutt directs James Cairns, Albert Pretorius and Rob van Vuuren in this unforgiving journey into the dark heart of South African justice, which looks to the horrific and barely believable narratives (Pistorius, Dewani) that have dominated our media recently.
  • Thoko Ntshinga directs the Baxter Theatre Centre’s revival of legendary South African theatre-maker Barney Simon’s hard-hitting 1985 docudrama ‘Born in the RSA’ (Graeme College, Thursday, 2 July at 6pm, Friday, 3 July at 2pm and 6pm and Saturday, 4 July at 2pm and 6pm). Having performed the role of Thenjiwe in the original production, Ntshinga is the lifeline connecting the 1985 staging to this current revival.
  • Patricia Boyer: ‘Miss Margarida’s Way’ (The Hangar, Friday, 10 July at 6.30pm, Saturday, 11 July at 10am and 3.30pm and Sunday, 12 July at 12.30pm and 6pm) Audiences and critics in over 50 countries have cheered this allegory about totalitarianism, which uses as its central metaphor a classroom. Also ‘Florence: A Script Reading’ (Eden Grove, Seminar Room 1 on Tuesday, 7 July at 4pm – as part of Think!Fest 2015) exploring the life of Lady Florence Phillips and the circumstances that led to the creation of the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
  • Nelisiwe Xaba and Mamela Nyamza: ‘The Last Attitude’ (Rhodes Box Theatre, Thursday, 2 July at 2pm, Friday, 3 July at 2pm and 6pm, Saturday, 4 July at 2 and 6pm) After years of not dancing together, two female choreographers/dancers meet up on stage again to do a ballet. The piece will interrogate the politics of this ancient art form: including the male posture and the relationship between the male principal dancer and the ballerina.
  • Jolynn Minaar: ‘Unearthed’ (Olive Schreiner, 7 July 12pm and 8 July 2.30pm): A young South African filmmaker swallows her optimism on the potential shale gas could bring to her people after traveling to ground zero and uncovering the dirty secrets of the fracking industry.
  • Jodi Bieber: ‘Between Darkness and Light’ (Grahamstown Gallery, Albany History Museum, 9am to 5pm daily) is this internationally acclaimed photographer’s first major mid-career retrospective and includes a selection of her work from 1993 to the present. The show has been exhibited at Stadhaus Ulm and Museum Goch in Germany as well as the Wits Art Museum.
  • Monique Pelser: ‘Conversations with My Father’ (Alumni Gallery, Albany Museum, 9am to 5pm daily) is a continuous dialogue (2011 – to date) between the artist and the objects, images, sound recordings and documents she inherited after her father died of a rare motor neuron disease which rendered him unable to speak for the last year and a half of his life. Her father was ‘a good man, a good father’. As a member of the South African Police force, he was also a product of his environment.
  • Thandiswa Mazwai (Guy Butler Theatre, Monument, Saturday, 11 July at 7pm): The Guardian recently called her ‘South Africa’s finest female contemporary singer’. One of South Africa’s most influential musicians, her music defies categorisation, but reflects elements of African traditional, jazz, Afro-soul and house.
  • Thandi Ntuli (DSG Auditorium, Friday, 3 July 11.30pm) Captivating young pianist Thandi Ntuli is making waves in the contemporary South African jazz scene and rapidly earning the admiration of the industry’s most respected musos. She has performed on various local and international stages including the Calabar International Jazz Festival, and recently returned from a national tour promoting her solo album, ‘The Offering’, which has received high accolades.
  • Also catch pianist Kai-ya Chang and gifted vocalists Nomfundo Xaluva, Lindiwe Maxolo, Auriol Hays and Siya Makuzeni (vocals/trombone) at the Standard Bank Jazz Festival.

Lerato Bereng is this year’s Featured Young Curator. Having graduated with a Masters in Fine Art (with distinction) from Rhodes University, she will be returning to her stomping ground. Bereng, who is a curator at Stevenson gallery in Johannesburg, has curated ‘Nine O’Clock’ (Fort Selwyn, 9am to 7pm daily), an exhibition featuring a selection of works by Simon Gush, including elements from his project, Red (2014), and administrator for Standard Bank Young Artist Kemang wa Lehulere’s exhibition ‘History Will Break Your Heart’ (Monument Gallery, 9am to 6pm daily).

For gripping theatre based on harrowing true stories about women rising up against the odds, see:

  • ‘I Have Life: Alison’s Story’ Based on the true story of a woman who, twenty years ago, was raped, stabbed multiple times and then had her throat cut, SAFTA Lifetime Achievement award winning theatre director Maralin Vanrenen’s adaptation of Marianne Thamm’s book, is a tribute to one woman’s remarkable journey from her ordeal, through her recovery and on to becoming an inspiration around the globe. Featuring Suanne Braun as Alison Botha. (Victoria Theatre, Thursday, 2 July at 4pm, Friday, 3 July at 2pm and 6pm, and Saturday, 4 July at 2pm and 6pm)
  • ‘Woman Alone’, Christo Davids’ adaptation of Dannelene Noach’s autobiographical novel ‘Arabian Nightmare’ tells the story of a woman working as nursing co-ordinator in one of the large, modern hospitals in Riyadh who ends up being abducted and incarcerated in a Saudi Arabian jail. A Muslim woman comes her rescue in a poignant tale about personal courage in the context of current-day religious conflicts. (The Hangar, Friday, 10 July at 12:30pm, Saturday, 11 July at 1pm and 9pm, and Sunday, 12 July at 10am and 3.30pm)
    Singer sensation Auriol Hays will be performing as part of the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown in July.

    Singer sensation Auriol Hays will be performing as part of the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown in July.

    Taiwanese pianist Kai-Ya Chang features on the scintillating programme at this year's Standard Bank Jazz Festival, to be held from 2 to 12 July in Grahamstown (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

    Taiwanese pianist Kai-Ya Chang features on the scintillating programme at this year’s Standard Bank Jazz Festival, to be held from 2 to 12 July in Grahamstown (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

    The Stevenson Gallery's Lerato Bereng is the featured curator at this year's National Arts Festival. She is pictured here at the Zeitz MOCCAA Gala held in Cape Town in March. (Image: Twitter.com/@ZeitzMOCAA)

    The Stevenson Gallery’s Lerato Bereng is the featured curator at this year’s National Arts Festival. She is pictured here at the Zeitz MOCCAA Gala held in Cape Town in March. (Image: Twitter.com/@ZeitzMOCAA)

    Actress and director Maralin Vanrenen has adapted Alison Botha's story about her brutal rape 20 years ago into a theatre production, 'I Have Life – Alison's Journey', which will be staged at this year's National Arts Festival.

    Actress and director Maralin Vanrenen has adapted Alison Botha’s story about her brutal rape 20 years ago into a theatre production, ‘I Have Life – Alison’s Journey’, which will be staged at this year’s National Arts Festival.

NEED TO KNOW

bookings are open and can be made via the website: http://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za. Ticketing call centre: 0860 002 004

Pick up a Festival programme and booking kit from selected Standard Bank and Exclusive Books. The full programme is online at http://www.nationalartsfestival.co.zA

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The National Arts Festival is an important event on the South African cultural calendar, and the biggest annual celebration of the arts on the African continent. This year it runs from 2 to 12 July 2015 in the small university town of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. The programme comprises drama, dance, physical theatre, comedy, opera, music, jazz, visual art exhibitions, film, student theatre, street theatre, lectures, craft fair, workshops, tours (of the city and surrounding historic places) as well as a children’s arts festival. As no censorship or artistic restraint has ever been imposed on works presented in Grahamstown, the Festival served as an important forum for political and protest theatre during the height of the apartheid era, and it continues to offer an opportunity for experimentation across the arts spectrum. Its significance as a forum for new ideas and an indicator of future trends in the arts cannot be underestimated.

KEEP IN TOUCH

National Arts Festival

Website: http://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za and http://www.youthjazz.co.za

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nationalartsfestival

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/artsfestival

The Imperial Ice Stars return to SA

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THE world’s premier theatrical ice skating company, The Imperial Ice Stars, returns to South Africa with a dynamic new interpretation of its award-winning masterpiece Swan Lake on Ice.

Opening in December for a limited season at Johannesburg’s Teatro at Montecasino before moving to Cape Town for a season at Artscape Opera House, the acclaimed production is part of a world tour celebrating the company’s 10th Anniversary.

Performed in the intimate setting of a frozen theatre stage, to Tchaikovsky’s famous and well-loved score, this production of Swan Lake on Ice introduces a new prologue to the classic tale, humanising the legend of a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer. The show features exhilarating new choreography and some of the world’s most stylish dancing on ice from Artistic Director Tony Mercer, widely regarded as the world’s leading creator of theatre on ice.

“Inspired by my research into Tchaikovsky’s original score and intentions for the story, I wanted to create a more realistic interpretation of this much-loved tale, with an ending that was more plausible and left no unanswered questions. I also wanted to transpose the story onto ice, creating a new art form in the process – ice dance in a full theatrical setting,” explains Tony Mercer. “I always felt it was a natural fit, to have swans gliding on ice.”

“I created our original Swan Lake on Ice in 2006 in a classical style with elements of contemporary ice dance. With this production I’ve significantly re-worked the choreography to incorporate even more contemporary skating manoeuvres, including elements that have never been seen in the world of figure skating before, and challenged our skaters to reach for new heights!”

The 24 Olympic, World, European and National Championship level skaters, who between them hold more than 250 competition medals, tell the timeless tale through mind-blowing high-speed leaps and throws – and daring manoeuvres so complex they haven’t yet been named – coupled with graceful and sublime ice dancing.

In addition awe-inspiring acrobatics, aerial gymnastics and spectacular new pyrotechnic effects add drama and mystery to the theatrical experience.

The costuming has also been refined for this new production, with some dazzling and sophisticated designs from renowned costumier Albina Gabueva of Moscow’s Stanislavsky Theatre, and made by the famous Bolshoi Ballet’s costume cutters.

The Imperial Ice Stars last performed in South Africa from December 2013 to February 2014 with The Sleeping Beauty on Ice, garnering outstanding reviews and raves from local audiences.

Whether you’ve seen The Imperial Ice Stars’ Swan Lake on Ice before or have yet to experience the thrill of world-class ice skating in the intimacy of the theatre, this dramatic new ice interpretation of one of the most popular ballets will have you on the very edge of your seat.

NEED TO KNOW

JOHANNESBURG: The Teatro at Montecasino – 3 December to 10 January

Tickets: R400, R350, R325, R275, R250, R200, R150 and R100

Performances: Tue – Fri at 7:30pm, Sat at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sun at 2pm and 6pm

CAPE TOWN: Artscape Opera – 14 January to 31 January

Tickets: R400, R350, R325, R275, R250, R200, R175, R150, R125 and R100

Performances: Tue – Fri at 7:30pm, Sat at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, Sun at 2pm and 6pm

Review: Shrek The Musical

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Gorgeous in every way: great sets, costumes and performances make it a must-see show
Review: Shrek The Musical
Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre,
UKZN, Durban
KICKSTART Theatre Company’s Shrek The Musical is big, green and fabulous.
Artistic director Steven Stead says it’s the most expensive show the award-winning Durban company has produced and, having seen it, I can believe it.
Designer Greg King has pulled out all the stops to create a myriad gorgeous sets, puppets and a gigantic love-sick dragon (voiced by Shelley McLean and manipulated by Peter Court).
The Broadway musical is based on the DreamWorks animation filmShrek, and tells the story of a solitary ogre (played by Lyle Buxton) who is forced to leave his comfy swamp when it’s invaded by a host of fairy-tale characters including Pinocchio, the Three Bears, the Three Little Pigs, a Wicked Witch, the Big Bad Wolf, Peter Pan, the Ugly Duckling, the Fairy Godmother, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Shoemaker’s Elf.
They have been evicted from their homes in the Kingdom of Duloc by the controlling — and diminutive — Lord Farquaad, brought to life in a superb performance by Cobus van Heerden who spends almost every scene he is in on his knees. His song and dance number What’s Up Duloc? is a triumph.
Shrek decides to confront Farquaad and along the way (reluctantly) teams up with a talkative Donkey, played by Rory Booth, whose scene-stealing performance is a joy to watch.
I especially loved the number Make a Move, in which Donkey does a bit of a James Brown/Steve Wonder number while accompanied by the Three Blind Mice.
But I digress. When Shrek and Donkey arrive in Duloc, Farquaad decides to use the ogre to rescue Princess Fiona from her dragon-guarded tower so that he can marry her and become king. In return, he promises to give Shrek his swamp back.
This pair of unlikely heroes soon rescue the feisty princess, played by Jessica Sole, who has a great vocal range and wonderful comedic timing. But things get complicated when Shrek and Fiona fall for each other on the way back to Duloc.
Shrek The Musical is packed full of toe-tapping show tunes, hilarious references to other musicals, including Disney’s The Lion King, and moments which will live long in the memory — Shrek and Fiona’s farting and burping contest and Gingy the Gingerbread Man’s “torture” scene spring to mind.
Stead has drawn wonderful performances from his talented leads and ensemble. And together with King and his creative team of Tina le Roux (lighting), Stephanie Pais (sound) and Shanti Naidoo (the enormous array of colourful costumes), they have created the biggest, brightest musical comedy you’re likely to see this year.
Theatre goers simply cannot afford to miss Shrek The Musical, and if you don’t leave the theatre humming along to Neil Diamond’s I’m A Believer then I’m as big a liar as Pinocchio.
Estelle Sinkins
• Shrek The Musical is being staged at 7 pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and at 2.30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on the Howard College campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. Booking is at Computicket. Please note: no children under six.
This review was first published in The Witness.
The fairytale characters in Shrek The Musical. Photo: Val Adamson

The fairytale characters in Shrek The Musical. Photo: Val Adamson

Shrek (Lyle Buxton) and Princess Fiona (Jessica Sole) in a scene from Shrek The Musical. Photo: Val Adamson

Shrek (Lyle Buxton) and Princess Fiona (Jessica Sole) in a scene from Shrek The Musical. Photo: Val Adamson

Shrek (Lyle Buxton) and Donkey (Rory) Booth prepare to set off on their adventure in Shrek The Musical. Photo: Val Adamson

Shrek (Lyle Buxton) and Donkey (Rory) Booth prepare to set off on their adventure in Shrek The Musical. Photo: Val Adamson

Twist Projects are looking for new theatre groups

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Twist Projects is ready to start a new programme cycle, and are looking to meet with community theatre groups based in KZN.

They can only accept four groups into the project, and know that there are many more who would wish to be part of the programme.

“We will be visiting interested groups around KZN over the coming months, to find the groups we think will benefit most from being part of Twist. We will be selecting the four groups based on their artistic potential, community spirit, potential for sustained growth, and strength of leadership,” said a spokesman for Twist.

Criteria for selection of the groups include:

a) having been working together as a group for at least one year,

b) being based in one geographical area,

c) group members being out-of-school and not in permanent employment, and

d) be a theatre or drama group (not a dance or choir group).

Please email info@twistprojects.co.za with a short profile of your group, and your contact phone number if you are keen for them to come and visit you in your area.

David Salleras and Chris Duigan launch new album at the Tatham

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THE Friends of Tatham Art Gallery (Fotag) and Music Revival will be hosting the launch of Indigo, an album featuring the talents of Spanish virtuoso David Salleras (saxophone) and Christopher Duigan (piano).
The launch will take place at the Tatham Art Gallery in Chief Albert Luthuli Street, Pietermaritzburg at
11 am on Sunday, June 21.
Since his first visit to South Africa in October 2012, Salleras has been collaborating on a project of concerts and recordings of original music with Duigan.
Regarded as one of the world leaders in contemporary classical saxophone, Salleras, based in Barcelona, Spain, has attracted international attention though his fluency in a variety of musical styles.
His partnership with Duigan is focused on the latter’s original music for saxophone and piano. Created over a number of years. Salleras has expressed an interest in this new music which he sees as a valuable contribution to the saxophone repertoire.
Tickets for the launch are R80. Booking is via e-mail at chris@fotag.co.za or by calling 033 342 3051 or SMSing 083 417 4473.

The concert will include selections from the album, world music from Spain and Argentina, film music and more. Cafe Tatham opens at 10 am and there is secure parking at the gallery. Indigo will be available for R100.

Chris Duigan and David Salleras. Photo: Val Adamson

Chris Duigan and David Salleras. Photo: Val Adamson

Don’t miss the Durban Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

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THE fifth annual Durban Gay & Lesbian Film Festival will be taking place from today to Friday, June 26 at the KZNSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood. The event is a partner of Durban Pride Week with the main parade happening on Saturday, June 27. A key part of eThekwini’s pink celebrations, the festival includes free morning public workshops and lunchtime screenings, afternoon filmmaker workshops and evening screenings.

Tickets range from R30 and there are special package rates available.
This year sees a retrospective of well-known Canadian gay filmmaker Charlie David’s recent films Mulligans (2009), Scenes From A Gay Marriage (2012), More Scenes From A Gay Marriage (2014) and the Pink African premiere of his latest film, Paternity Leave (2015) with Chris Salvatore (Eating Out series).
Also on the programme are the powerful documentaries Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride (2009) and Positive Youth (2013).
“Charlie is a great supporter of the DGLFF with his well received film Judas Kiss opening the inaugural DGLFF in 2011,” said Jason Fiddler, director of the festival.
“We look forward to having him as a guest of this year’s festival thanks to the support of the Canadian High Commission in Pretoria. Charlie will also be conducting some filmmaking workshops for emerging LGBTI filmmakers.”
Oscar nominated for the documentary Invisible War that saw him win an Emmy, American filmmaker Tanner Barklow and Israeli counterpart Gil Kofman will be sharing their new film, Lost In the White City with Durban audiences.
It stars Thomas Dekker as a bisexual experimental filmmaker on a soul-searching vacation with his girlfriend in Tel Aviv when a handsome Israeli drives a sexual wedge between them.
Other films to look forward to include:
• A Reunion about a gay road trip film that brings two estranged friends back together on a journey to attend their alma mater reunion in Chicago whilst confronting a complicated past; and
• Shadows of Yesterday, a drama that focuses on the growing romance of two guys during student uprisings that pit love and principles against ideology.
“We are also proud to announce the world premiere of a brand new South African lesbian drama, My Name Is Rose/Imbali, a story of forced marriage, African tradition and newly discovered love between two young African women coming to terms with a patriarchal society,” said Fiddler.
The film will screen tomorrow at 7 pm. For more on the film, see the accompanying story.
In addition to the feature films there are more than a dozen international short films and documentaries on offer during the eight-day festival.
The full schedule can be seen at http://www.dglff.org.za and you can like the Facebook page: DGLFF to keep up to date with the festival.
Shadows of Yesterday.

Shadows of Yesterday.

Lost in the White City.

Lost in the White City.

Charlie David.

Charlie David.

A Reunion.

A Reunion.

Ayanda to open the Durban International Film Festival

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Fulu Mugovhani plays Ayanda in the film of the same name.

Fulu Mugovhani plays Ayanda in the film of the same name.

THE highly anticipated South African film, directed by Sara Blecher and produced by Real Eyes in association with Leading Lady Productions, will open the 36th Durban International Film Festival (Diff), which takes place from July 16 to July 26.

Set in the vibrant Afropolitan ­community of Johannesburg’s Yeoville, Ayanda is a coming-of-age story of a ­21-year-old Afro-hipster who embarks on a journey of self discovery when she has to fight to save her late father’s legacy, a motor repair shop, when it is threatened with closure.
She’s thrown into a world of greasy overalls, gender stereotypes and abandoned vintage cars, once loved and now in need of a young woman’s reinventive touch to bring them back to life.
“Ayanda is a story about women, made by women,” says director Blecher. “The film is set in a vibrant and diverse Johannesburg and gives audiences a colourful and vivid view of South Africa right now. With a youthful cast, it has energy and street style.
“At its heart, however, the film looks at what it’s like for a young girl to grow up without a father, and how she and others around her have to learn how to let go of the things and people they love to move forward.”
The film stars Fulu Mugovhani (of Scandal fame) in the title role, Nigerian actor O.C. Ukeje and South Africans Ntathi Moshesh, Kenneth Nkosi, Jafta Mamabola, Thomas Gumede, Sihle Xaba and Vanessa Cooke.
“We are pleased that this feel-good film will open this year’s festival,” said Pedro Pimenta, director of the Diff.
“The opening film of this, the most prestigious international film event in SA, needs to reflect a clear priority established by the festival to reach and develop local audiences.
“The recently published National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) report on audiences in this country is very informative and revealing in that while the industry has been successfully structured and supported from all quarters to allow a regular flow of SA content, much still needs to be done for this content to reach local audiences. By once again opening the Diff with a strong SA film, we endorse this objective.”
This is the second opening night film at Diff for Blecher. Her film Otelo Burning, a gripping story about township kids who discover surfing, opened the 2011 Diff, won numerous international awards and was screened at festivals all around the world.
“We are very proud of Ayanda and are thrilled to have it selected as the opening film at this year’s festival. The film had a very successful screening in Cannes last month and we look forward to screening it to festival goers in Durban,” said Blecher.
Co-producer of the film Terry Pheto added: “Ayanda celebrates the diversity of our country and revels in the fact that we are a multicultural, colourful and ­exciting melting pot of Africa. With this film we have tried to capture the Afropolitan nature of our country and the energy of its people.”
Ayanda had its world premiere in Los Angeles on June 13, where it was screened in competition at the prestigious Los Angeles Film Festival.
The film, which was originally titled Andani and the Mechanic, was a project in the 2013 Durban FilmMart, the co-production and finance forum of the Diff, and the Durban Film Office. It is one of five titles that have been part of the DFM process over the years that will be screened this year at Diff. The festival includes more than 200 theatrical screenings and a full seminar and workshop programme, as well as the Wave­scapes Film Festival. Other attractions include the eighth Talents Durban ­(presented in co-operation with the Berlinale Talents) and the sixth Durban FilmMart co-production market (presented in partnership with the Durban Film Office).
• See http://www.durbanfilmfest.co.za

Photographic exhibition in the Durban Botanic Gardens

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ALLIANCE Française de Durban and the Durban Botanic Gardens, in collaboration with the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), are hosting the international exhibition, Women in Resistance (Femmes en résistance), by French photographer, Pierre-Yves Ginet.
The work, which will be on show in the Sunken Gardens at the Durban Botanic Gardens from June 20, aims to recognise the struggle, contribution and sacrifice of women around the world.
The exhibition is an essay of portraits with bilingual English and French text. It features 25 photo panels of 25 groups of women in 25 countries — from the fight of Congolese women for victims of sexual violence, to the fight of Tibetan nuns in Asia for education, and the fight of Argentinian women against dictatorship.
“Women represent more than half of humanity but many are still today, excluded from their country’s economic, political and social life. They are more vulnerable to poverty, lack of education and wars,” says Ginet.
In his work, the photographer wanted to depart from the stereotypical representation of women as victims. Instead his images give priority to the struggles led by many of them.
“I have always been a traveller and then I started taking pictures as a tourist,” says Ginet. “From 1991, I had a dual role of photo amateur journalist.
“I was a financial analyst at the time and used up unpaid leave, but from 1998, I became 100% committed to being a photojournalist.
“For me, the ultimate journey was Tibet, in 1991. I was shocked by the destruction of the heritage. Under the ubiquitous Chinese army, Tibetans are reduced to begging and there is rampant prostitution.
“The shock was there: it was an encounter with the reality that I did not expect. I went as a tourist and I came back as a journalist.”
Theres is a local, interactive element to this art project on Facebook.
The page Women in Resistance Exhibition, Durban & KZN is open to all and the idea is for participants to go to the exhibition take a selfie in front of the Women in Resistance Exhibition, Durban & KZN backdrop and to upload it to the Facebook page with an inspiring text.
• Women in Resistance/Femmes en Résistance is at the Sunken Garden in the Durban Botanic Gardens, from June 20 to July 10. Admission is free.

Pieter-Dirk Uys to perform two shows at the Hilton College Theatre

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LEGENDARY South African satirist, Pieter-Dirk Uys, will be performing two shows at the Hilton College Theatre.
Adapt or Fly is being staged on Friday, August 7 and An Evening With Evita can be seen on Saturday, August 8. Both shows start at 7.30 pm.
Uys started his one-man onslaught against politicians who should know better with Adapt or Dye in 1981. In Adapt or Fly, he onces again holds up the cracked mirror of satire to a 21-year-old democracy and uses humour as his weapon of mass distraction.
After successful seasons in Cape Town and Johannesburg and a run at the Soho Theatre in London, Uys will hit the stage with Julius Malema, Evita Bezuidenhout, a gang of National Party leaders and a cabal of ANC stalwarts in a show that will put a healthy perspective on our fears and worries.
Bezuidenhout will be back on August 8, and theatre-goers are invited to spend some ‘quality time with the most famous white woman in South Africa’.
A legend in her own lunchtime thanks to her cooking, and an icon who can confront any aikona, Bezuidenhout invites us to share with her the optimism and fearlessness that has made her one of the most respected voices in our wilderness of free speech.
“Come and enjoy the blacks, whites, browns, yellows and ‘others’ that make up this unique country of our dreams,” says Uys. “As long as we can laugh at our fear, we are still in charge of our future.”

Tickets are R180 to R195 and bookings open on Monday, June 22. To book go to http://www.hiltontheatre.co.za

Evita Bezuidenhout will be sharing her thoughts on South Africa at the Hilton College Theatre in An Evening with Evita Bezuidenhout.

Evita Bezuidenhout will be sharing her thoughts on South Africa at the Hilton College Theatre in An Evening with Evita Bezuidenhout.

Pieter-Dirk Uys will be performing Adapt for Fly at the Hilton College Theatre.

Pieter-Dirk Uys will be performing Adapt for Fly at the Hilton College Theatre.

Three UKZN shows heading to the National Arts Festival

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THREE shows from the University of KwaZulu-Natal will be presented at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown this year.
They are: the highly successful and acclaimed productions of Woza Albert! and The Island which have been touring around KwaZulu-Natal and the Great Karoo, where The Island was seen and enjoyed by playwright, Athol Fugard, himself.
The Island is also being presented at the National Schools’ Festival later in July.
The other show from UKZN, Match Girl, has been selected to represent the Pietermaritzburg campus at the annual student drama festival at the National Arts Festival.
Match Girl is a modern South African adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson tale of The Little Match Girl.
The story is told through a fusion of performance art, mask work, shadow play, puppetry and physical theatre.
It highlights how we, as a society, have become inured to suffering and poverty, or simply don’t want to acknowledge it.
The production retains the innocence and sentiment of the original story through the use of highly visual theatrical imagery combining modern technology with artistic simplicity.
It is directed by masters student Jessica Killerby, who was responsible for the beautiful environmental piece Her Cradle, which wowed audiences at the Hexagon and Hilton Arts Festival last year.
The cast includes Nompilo Jili, Monique Schoeman, Bongeka Ngubane, Musa Shozi and Sabelo Cele.
Woza Albert! is one of the plays for which South African theatre is best known internationally.
Its style of storytelling has inspired and influenced theatre companies around the world, and it remains one of the most vibrant examples of satirical anti-apartheid South African theatre.
The play asks what would happen if Christ (Morena) came back to 1980s apartheid South Africa. It is primarily a satire that highlights the absurdities of apartheid and displays the talents of two dextrous actors, in this case TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande, who play a range of ordinary characters on the street.
Directed by Peter Mitchell, the production is a high energy explosion of creativity and humour with a dark edge as Morena’s life is relived in an apartheid context.
Pietermaritzburg audiences will be able to see previews of Match Girl and Woza Albert! at the Hexagon Theatre at 6 pm on June 25 and at 6 pm and 7.15 pm on June 26.
A musical duo called Acoustic Assassins, which is also Grahamstown bound, will entertain in The Dive on June 26 at 8.30 pm.
Tickets are R40 (R25 concession) for each show.
— Weekend Witness eXplore Reporter
Where to see these shows in Grahamstown:
• The Match Girl will be staged in the rehearsal room at 11.30 am on July 2 and 5 pm on July 3. Tickets are R45 (R35 concessions).
• Woza Albert! can be seen at the Masonic Back at 4 pm on July 7, 12 noon on July 8, 4 pm on July 9, 2 pm and 10 pm on July 11 and at 10 am on July 12. Tickets are R50 (concessions R45).
• The Island is at the Masonic Back at 4 pm on July 2, 12 noon and 8 pm on July 3, 10 pm on July 4, 2 pm on July 5 and 6 pm on July 6. Tickets are R50 (R45 concessions).
• Acoustiq Assassins are performing at The Vic at 12 noon on July 8, 1 pm on July 9 and 5 pm on July 10. Tickets R50.
TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande star in Woza Albert!

TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande star in Woza Albert!

Nompilo Jili in Match Girl.

Nompilo Jili in Match Girl.

TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande star in The Island.

TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande star in The Island.