Theatre production revamp for National Arts Festival
JOBURG - The 20-year anniversary of Barney Simon's passing is celebrated this year at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown through the remake of his iconic stage play, Born in the RSA.
Barney Simon was the world-renowned artistic director and co-founder of the Market Theatre in Johannesburg’s Newtown Precinct.
Simon and The Market Theatre Company developed the play at a time when South Africa was going through a very tumultuous phase with regards to politics in the country. In 1985, the play was staged for the first time at The Market Theatre and then toured England and the USA, coming home with great acclaim from both tours.
Simon was known for his method of creating original plays through a workshop process which involved improvisation, collaborative writing and field research. He encouraged his actors to draw on direct life experiences, sending them out into the streets to observe, explore and experience the textures of the lives they would then portray on the stage.
It has been 20 years since the death of Simon, and still his work lives on as it focuses on issues that are relevant to contemporary South Africa.
Reflecting on the curatorial thinking behind this timeous restaging, National Arts Festival artistic director Ismail Mahomed said, “Inspired by the 20th anniversary of the National Unity and Reconciliation Act of 1995 that led to the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a small number of productions were selected to be curated under the theme of personal and social reconciliation and justice.”
This play will be redone and staged at the National Arts Festival at Graeme College in Grahamstown.
The festival runs from 4 to 6 June.
