‘Suidoosterfees’ to boast numerous quality productions

The 20^th Suidoosterfees, taking place at Cape Town’s Artscape Theatre between 27 April and 1 May will be boasting productions that will be the talk of the town for months to come.

The festival is supported by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, City of Cape Town, Media24, Die Burger, NATi and kykNET.

Plays on the programme are produced in partnership with NATi, Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds, NAC, NIHSS, Aardklop, AK21, ATKV, LitNet, Artscape and the LW Hiemstra Trust.

The Suidoosterfees will be following a vaccination policy and festivalgoers will therefore need to produce electronic or printed vaccination certificates upon entry to Artscape.

Alternatively, a negative SARS-CoV-2 test result taken within 72 hours prior to the visit, will be required.

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Productions at the Suidoosterfees include:

• Opdrifsel by Philip Rademeyer, which was recently published by Protea Books and tells the story of Mara and Bernard, a couple who has to come to terms with the death of their only son. It features Brendon Daniels and Tinarie van Wyk.
• Bientang: bloedspoor/!nau with poet Jolyn Phillips, Charlton George, Deniel Barry and Frazer Barry. This production is based on Phillips’ award-winning poetry book, which looks into the legend of a woman, Bientang who lived in a cave in Hermanus.
• Mutton Hour with De Klerk Oelofse and Cintaine Schutte will make festivalgoers fall in love with theatre all over again. It’s a compilation of heartfelt tales about love, loss, clowns and cats and will be debuting at the festival.
• Koeksusters was written by Justin Redelinghuys and features Christian Bennett, Dean Smith and Gantane Kusch, who portray women from the Cape Flats – all victims of gender-based violence. The dramady addresses the issue head-on.
• Die oerkluts kwyt is a co-production of Suidoosterfees, KKNK and Aardklop, celebrating two icons – Antjie Krog and Antoinette Kellerman – and their 70^th birthdays. In the production, Kellerman will be performing some of Antjie’s most popular poetry, admired worldwide for its honesty, sincerity, irony, grace and love.
• Agulhasvlakte by young playwright, Herschelle Benjamin is a story of Milly, a florist who battles elements that threaten the biodiversity of her birthplace. The production features talent like Kay Smith, René Cloete and Wilhelm van der Walt.
• Die halwe huis is a one-man show with Marlo Minnaar and was written by Ricardo Arendse. It tells the story of Bumper Jansen, an upcoming writer who decided to end his life.
• Plesierengel by Ruan Wessels is based on Leon van Nierop’s top-selling books about a male sex worker who has women at his feet.
• Dis 20:15, Ferdinand Bekker’s comedy featuring Waldemar Schultz and Brendon Daniels is a comedy about Pieter and Francois, two regular, hardworking guys who decide to become bank robbers.

Six short, powerful monologues will also be performed at the festival as part of Suidoosterfees and LitNet’s Stemme / Voices series.

It will be performed free of charge in various timeslots with monologues written by Dana Snyman, Dean Balie, Heloïne Armstrong, Jemma Kahn, Buhle Ngaba and Mike van Graan.

Tickets for festival productions are available on Computicket and the festival programme is available on www.suidoosterfees.co.za.