DURBAN theatre practioners, Emma Durden and Roel Twijnstra, launched their book, Theatre Production in South Africa at Think!Fest, during the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
Greg Homann
Don’t miss A Voice I Cannot Silence at the Playhouse
Ralph Lawson and Clare Mortimer in A Voice I Cannot Silence. Photo: CuePix/Sithasolwazi Kentane
THE critically acclaimed, award-winning drama, A Voice I Cannot Silence, will be staged in the Playhouse Loft Theatre in Durban from May 12 to 20. Continue reading
Two powerful dramas heading to the Playhouse
Tony Miyambo. Photo: Supplied
Tony Myembe.
THE Playhouse Company has two superb plays heading to the Durban theatre as part of its annual New Stages season in May. Continue reading
All the Naledi Theatre Awards winners
Naledi award-winners Fiona Ramsay and Janna Ramos-Violante in Doubt.
VETERAN actress, Fiona Ramsay, made history on Tuesday, April, when she won the best lead performance in a play (female) for two different plays – Doubt and Miss Dietrich Regrets at the prestigious Naledi Theatre Awards at the Lyric Theatre in Gold Reef City, Johannesburg.
Her co-star in Doubt, Janna Ramos-Violante, won the best supporting actress award. She was one of several actors and companies with links to KwaZulu-Natal who enjoyed a great night at the awards ceremony. Continue reading
Greg Homann discusses new SA contemporary theatre
Greg Homann. Photo: Timmy Henny
TWIST Theatre Development Projects is hosting a series of free interactive “In Conversation With” sessions in KwaZulu-Natal to launch The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary South African Theatre – a definitive book which looks at the history, status and context of South African contemporary theatre – written by Greg Homann. Continue reading
Wanted: SA’s John Travolta
Tony Manero was king. In the 1970s disco era there were no bigger moves, no bigger sounds than those of John Travolta and Saturday Night Fever. The strutting, the energy, the suit, the hair, the music … nobody could do Tony Manero quite like Travolta…. right…..? Continue reading
Greg Homann speaks about honouring a literary great
Ralph Lawson as Alan Paton in A Voice I Cannot Silence.
AMONG the many theatrical delights heading to this year’s Hilton Arts Festival, at Hilton College from September 17 to 19, is A Voice I Cannot Silence, a play based on the life and work of Alan Paton. I spoke to director, Greg Homann about the show. Continue reading
Hilton Arts Festival 2015: booking is open
Neil Coppen’s Animal Farm is one of the must-see shows at the Hilton Arts Festival.
Marty Kintu and Andrew Buckland in Blue / Orange.
Booking has opened for KwaZulu-Natal’s premier arts festival: the 23nd annual Hilton Arts Festival, which will be hosted in the picturesque Hilton College campus from September 18 – 20. Continue reading
A history of conflict: Menzi Mkhwane looks at events that have shaped the African continent in latest production
Menzi Mkhwane.
Lungile Mtshali. Photo: Paulo Menezes
Danica Delaray. Photo: Paulo Menezes
Anele Nene. Photo: Paulo Menezes
CREATING Secret Valley of the Great Kings, a new theatre production premiering at the Playhouse Loft Theatre in September, has been something of a labour of love for Menzi Mkhwane. Continue reading
A look at Alan Paton’s life and works in ‘A Voice I Cannot Silence’
DURBAN actors Ralph Lawson, Clare Mortimer and Menzi Mkhwane will be starring in Greg Homann and Ralph Lawson’s A Voice I Cannot Silence.
The play, which is based on the life and work of Alan Paton, highlights the invaluable contribution made by the author of Cry, The Beloved Country who was, in the words of Douglas Livingstone, a “lighthouse in the South African twilight” during the dark decades leading up to the country’s constitutional democracy.
Paton’s internationally recognised gifts of lyric verse, evocative prose and vibrant story telling are combined to create a richly dramatic portrait.
The play focuses on his years as principal of Diepkloof Reformatory, the “toughest black borstal in the Southern Hemisphere”, where he introduced daring reforms that brought him into conflict with the architect of apartheid Hendrik Verwoerd, his position as president of the Liberal Party that led to harassment and a 10-year period during which his passport was taken away by the apartheid government, his indomitable belief in and daunting struggle for human rights, and the complexities of his personal relationships.
These weighty themes are explored through Paton’s interaction with Anne Hopkins, whom he employed in 1968 as a secretary shortly after the death of his wife Dorrie.
While trying to come to terms with his loss, the memories of his wife and their love for each other are set in contrast to his difficult days spent at the reformatory some 20 years earlier where he remembers vividly a curious young man called Sponono.
A Voice I Cannot Silence is being staged at the Rhodes Box Theatre at noon and 8.30 pm on July 10 and July 11, and at noon on July 12.
Tickets are R70, with concession tickets at R65.
A post-performance discussion with the director and cast, moderated by an arts journalist from City Press, will take place after the noon performance on July 10.
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 athttp://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
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