Giving past winners the stage again
Arena Programme curator Tracey Saunders gives an overview of its 2018 productions
If you’ve ever wondered where exactly the winners of Standard Bank Ovation Awards disappear to, a visit to the Arena will provide you with an answer.
The Arena Programme is curated from proposals submitted by former Ovation and Cape Town Fringe Award winners, with artists receiving some support from the festival for a new piece of work as an acknowledgement of their previous success.
Jefferson “J Bobs” Tshabalala, one of South Africa’s most exciting theatre makers, consistently breaks genres and redefines what it means to attend a live performance.
This year, he brings J Bobs Live – Location Lekeyshini Lokasie to the Arena. “A Game, Meets Talk, Meets Sketch show”, it’s a show that examines, celebrates and reflects poignantly on the vast lived experiences of South African townships. Not even J Bobs himself can predict the outcome of each game show ride.
Like J Bobs the Isikhumbuzo Applied History Unit utilises different aspects of performance as a means of examining our identity. The Xhosa Chronicles continues the exploration that began last year with
Battles! – Iimfazwe! and interrogates the past of the ama Xhosa nation.
There’s more than theatre on offer, and while the Recording Academy’s lack of representation of women at the Grammy Awards earlier this year earned them some ire, there’s a decidedly feminine focus at NAF.
● In addition to jazz singer, arranger, pianist and composer Amanda Tiffin taking the reins of the Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Band (SBNYJB) this year, Emma Farquharson brings us the work of nine seldomheard of women classical composers.
They include the 12th century mystic and poet Hildegard of Bingen; Kassia, first woman-of-colour composer; Amy Beach, and British composer Rebecca Clarke.
This unusual programme, Feather on the Breath of God will be accompanied by pianist Nina van Schoor and cellist Caleb Vaughn-Jones and the less musical but no less intriguing Hildegarde biscuits.
Hailing firmly from this century and striding into the future is Samthing Soweto. His fans will already have their tickets firmly in hand. Love Child’s mixture of soul, jazz and blues, infused with reggae and contemporary gospel complete the trio of musical offerings.
The Rerouted Dance Theatre, together with the Floating Outfit Project present Clothes Maketh (Wo)Man and offer an interrogation of something we all take for granted, what we wear.
Tegan Peacock, a 2016 Standard Bank Ovation Award for BIRD/FISH together with Ashleigh Joubert and JC Zondi poses the question choreographically in the single dance performance on the Arena.
Sam Pennington returns with Flotsam, sailing on the stormy waters of the Western Cape.
Jo Kinda and the Persevering People bring Pieces of An
African Drum , in which Port Elizabeth playwright Xolisa Ngubelanga asks what is more important – the bones of an ancestor, or gold?
The complete Arena Programme, is on Page 24 of the official programme, with details listed under each genre.