NAF’s 50th, democracy’s 30th, sets stage
It’s come a long way from the creamembossed programme and cash boxoffice that launched the National Arts Festival in 1974, with the 2024 National Arts Festival programme having gone live at https://nationalartsfestival.co.za and available for browsing online and conveniently and securely bookable from the couch.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that the Festival is still a space for freedom of expression; a yardstick for the South African arts and an interdisciplinary platform for diverse new work.
This year, the Festival turns 50, and the artistic community is looking back on where we have come from, reflecting on how we have grown and changed; and looking ahead to our future as an evolving country and its people.
Through its unrelenting gaze and interpretation, SA’s creative community has always provoked, inspired, discomforted, entertained and healed. This year is no different.
From sweeping powerful works such as the new Third World Bunfights, The Stranger, to the Sibikwa Arts Centre’s riveting revolutionary call, 1789, and the return of Vuyani Dance’s epic CION –A Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero – the mood is bold.
Collaborative work made possible by the French Institute of SA (IFAS) and The Embassy of France to SA, Lesotho and Malawi sees African choreographers and scenographers working with South African community-based dance collectives, in a project called Third Space, to create new works that will be brought to the Festival.
The Festival’s 50th anniversary takes place against the backdrop of SA marking 30 years of democracy.
A Luta Continua: Reflecting on 30 Years of Democracy through the Constitutional Court Art Collection is an exhibition that explores the interconnectedness of art and justice, human rights and democracy, at this key moment in SA’s history and future.
The 2023 Standard Bank Young Artists will lead the charge into the unknown with brand new works and boundaries redefined. This year’s cohort includes Lorin Sookool (dance), Darren English (jazz), Zoë Modiga (music), Angel Ho (performance art), Kgomotso “MoMo” Matsunyane (theatre) and Stephané Conradie (visual art).
Visual artists have harnessed the archive and memory to produce shows that speak to the National Arts Festival’s history.
In Mattering: 50 Years of The National Arts Festival, curators Raphaela Linders and Viwe Madinda worked with writer Robyn Perros to create an exhibition that lifts archival fragments from each of the Festival’s five decades.
The Fringe will once again bring the unexpected and the surreal to light, with shows from all over the country – some for their debut, others much-loved returning favourites.
Returning artists include Sophie Joans, who went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 with her multi awardwinning play, ÎLE (Gold Standard Bank Ovation Award 2022), and now brings her new solo show, AÏo; a blend of clowning, technology and theatre to Makhanda.
The Eastern Cape’s Sonwa Sakuba
Institute will bring family entertainment with Disney’s Moana JR, while a host of comedians such as Yaseen Barnes, Khanyisa Bunu, Conrad Koch and Thato Mabelane will be back with more fun.
Thirty years of democracy forms an interesting frame for Mike van Graan’s satirical work, My Fellow South Africans.
Music and magic, always a cornerstone of the Fringe, includes Festival legend and Britain’s Got Talent
alumni Brendon Peel, his frequent stage partner Li Lau and another Festival favourite, Stuart Lightbody.
Twisted Fates is a play from the North West Province Development Agency that explores the intricate dynamics of inseparable twin brothers.
From KwaZulu-Natal comes Xola Mziwakhe’s Zabalaza Theatre Festival best production nominee Azania ;a poignant odyssey through hopes and heartbreak, while Bonolo, from Limpopo, tells the story of the complex relationship between a daughter and mother-in-law.
Out of the Free State comes Velaphi Mthimkulu’s Capable, about a young man with albinism who is wanted for muti, and from Gauteng comes Cantos of a Life in Exile, a captivating journey of self-discovery for a South African born in exile.
The CPUT Performing Arts Society in the Western Cape will present Marysa Leukes in It Went Above Your Head.
Multiple works from the Eastern Cape showcase the talent and diversity in the Festival’s home province. This is just a small taste of the Fringe . . .
The Village Green market will once again be a bustling centre at the Festival.
Watch this space to hear more about the Makhanda National Jazz programme, Third Space, visual art exhibitions and Eastern Cape Showcase.
Ticket prices range from R30- R175, online now at https://nationalartsfestival.co.za/