St Mary’s pupils shine at arts festival
JOBURG – St Mary's pupils dominate Festival of Excellence in Dramatic Arts.
Pupils of St Mary’s School, Waverley, performed at the Joburg Theatre on 21 May in the 2016 Festival of Excellence in Dramatic Arts finale.
Out of a possible 52 plays from 40 schools, four plays were selected for the final round. The production from St Mary’s School, Waverley, titled Eclipsed was named as the winner of the festival.
As part of their prize, the St Mary’s girls will perform Eclipsed at the Fringe Festival at this year’s Grahamstown National Arts Festival.
Ismail Mahomed, director of the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, applauded the school’s production.
“If there is going to be one Fringe production that offers you a universal statement about the impact of war on young women and which is performed by five young women with astonishing conviction and remarkable acting skills, then I have no doubt that it will be St Mary’s production of Danai Gurira’s play, Eclipsed,” said Mohamed.
Director of Eclipsed, Victoria Chemaly, a Grade 7 pupil of St Mary’s, won best director.
Best actress and best supporting actress went to two pupils of the school, Thidziambi Mufamadi and Sandile Parirenyatwa. Eclipsed also won the award for best set design.
