Strike and Buckland move audiences to tears in Grahamstown
The first weekend of the 2014 National Arts Festival was characterised by the arrival of the cold weather for which the event is usually well known (the opening couple of days, July 3 and 4, were unexpectedly sunny and hot), as well as the inevitable griping about the wind and the chill.
GREED MACHINE. A group of Eden College high school girls perform a thought-provoking public art piece named Locomoto on the Drostdy Lawns at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. Written and choreographed by Shelby Strange, Locomoto demonstrates the mechanism of greed. The machine is fuelled by the discontented nature of humans and their desire to dominate. Pictures: Valentina Nicol
The best way to stay warm was to get into venues where productions were running, and there were a good number of sold-out houses as day visitors streamed in from Port Elizabeth, Port Alfred and other nearby towns.
Two shows generated almost uniformly fantastic word-of-mouth buzz over the first four days. On The Harmful Effects Of Tobacco, starring Andrew Buckland and directed by Sylvaine Strike (this year’s Featured Artist), showcased the former’s legendary expertise as a physical theatre practitioner, as well as a pathos-filled script that moved many audience members to tears.
Brothers Hasan and Husain Essop at the National Art Festival in Grahamstown, 6 July 2014, Standard Bank Young Artist Award winners for Visual Art, explaining their work, which was created especially for National Arts Festival, their work is made up of predominately panoramic photographs set in Cape Town. Overall theme is environmental based within their culture and community. Picture: Valentina Nicol
Machine Makes Man, starring Michael McQuilken and Adina Verson, is an American production about a pregnant couple who volunteer to be test subjects for a new teaching technology experiment that won the Best International Performance at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival.
Coming up this week is Mpu-melelo Paul Grootboom’s Protest, starring Desmond Dube and Bongani Masango, as well as Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike, starring Michael Richard and Louise St Clare.
HIT SHOW. Kamishibai, an ancient form of Japanese picture theatre is used to tell seven stories that run the gamut from kitsch to kink, and from tragedy to the dream life of cats in The Epicene Butcher and other Stories for Consenting Adults. The show is wowing Grahamstown audiences.
And those getting headaches from the cold can still head to the Transnet Village Green and buy a silly hat or a mug of hot chocolate.
Bring on week two.
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