Fab fare for 24th Hilton Arts Festival
Arts editor Billy Suter looks at highlights of the must-do event of any year on the KwaZuluNatal arts calendar – the Hilton Arts Festival at Hilton College, to be presented next month.
PIETER-Dirk Uys, Fiona Ramsay, Mark Banks, Rob van Vuuren, Atwanda Kani, Mark Mulder, Graham Weir, Moving Into Dance Mophatong, Cat Simoni, Janna Ramos-Violante, Tonya Koenderman … all will head for Hilton next month.
They are among the many star attractions at KwaZulu-Natal’s top arts event which, now in its 24th year and sponsored for the second year by Independent Newspapers, will again be hosted in venues throughout the grounds of picturesque Hilton College.
The dates to note for the multiarts festival featuring some of the best shows and talents around are September 16 to 18.
Theatre, dance, comedy, musical theatre, family shows, classical music, music revue, band-music, visual art and a series of “mind-scape” lectures and discussions … all are on the programme, along with crafts, food stalls and a beer tent.
Free entertainment will be offered in both the Castle Lite Festival Marquee and Amphitheatre by Durban singers Marion Loudon and Chloe Clark, the Pietermaritzburg City Orchestra, Barry Thomson, Hairy Legged Lentil Eaters, Jazzy Marimba Funk!, The Bifocals, Crawford La Lucia Drumline and Tracey Academy of Irish Dance.
Two plays – one a drama about beauty, treachery and the high price of survival; the other a South African classic dubbed by the New York Times as “a joyous hymn to human nature” – are flagship productions at this year’s festival.
The Grindrod Bank Flagship production is Blonde Poison, by South African playwright Gail Louw. It stars award-winning Johannesburg actress Fiona Ramsay under the direction of former Durban actress Janna Ramos-Violante.
A 60-minute drama about beauty, treachery and the high price of survival, Blonde Poison tells of a woman who lived illegally in war-torn Berlin, where she was betrayed and tortured. To save her life and those of her parents she agreed to offer information to the Gestapo, ratting on Jews in hiding.
Tickets (reserved seating) cost R199 each and performances are scheduled for the Grindrod Bank Theatre at 8.30pm on September 16 and 3pm on September 18.
The Independent Newspapers flagship production is the classic
Sizwe Banzi is Dead, produced and lit by Mannie Manim, directed by the legendary John Kani and starring Kani’s son, Atwanda, alongside Mncedisi Shabangu.
A tale about the struggle for human dignity, it focuses on a black man in apartheid-era South Africa, trying to overcome oppressive work regulations to support his family.
There will be only one
performance, at 8pm on September 17, in the Grindrod Bank Theatre. Tickets (reserved) cost R199 each.
Also set for one performance is Pieter Dirk Uys: The Echo of a
Noise, in which the 70-year-old master of satire looks back on his life and the tales behind his many stories and characters. Catch the ace Uys at the Grindrod Bank Theatre at 6pm on September 16. Tickets cost R199 each.
If it’s more comedy you seek, Rob van Vuuren’s Life (5.30pm on September 17 at the Falcon Tent; tickets R170 each) is worth checking out. The popular comic tackles diverse topics including motivational speakers, Home Affairs and trying to get a 5-year-old to school on time. Laughs are also abundant in
Banksrupt, Mark Banks’s stand-up comedy centred on everyday life in South Africa. It’s to be staged in the Falcon Tent at 8.30pm on September 17. Tickets cost R170 each.
If you are a fan of the classic British TV series Fawlty Towers, try to get to see Tarty Flowers, starring Annie Robinson and Mark Mulder as Basil and Sybil Fawlty, and other characters from the comedy series.
Staged at Durban’s Rhumbelow Theatre – where it is to have a return season soon – this amusing show features fun highlights from the TV show.
Catch it at the festival’s Fleur de Lys at 6pm on September 16, when it will be staged as supper theatre (a R440 ticket includes a meal). Or see it at 12.30pm on September 18 at the Drama Centre, where tickets (unreserved seating) cost R120 each. If you’re a dance fan, don’t miss
Feathers in the Grindrod Theatre at 3pm on September 17 (Tickets R199). Presented by Moving Into Dance Mophatong, it is a widely acclaimed delight featuring works by various choreographers. Also of note is Dead Yellow
Sands, a show marking a return to minimalism: an actor lit with sophisticatedly simple lighting, speaking the stories he has lived.
Written and performed by Graham Weir, the show has direction by Bo Petersen and lighting design by Darron Araujo.
It will be staged at the Grindrod Theatre at 5.30pm on September 17 and 10am on September 18 (tickets cost R199 each). Worth booking for, too, is
Contractions, teaming Janna Ramos-Violante and Emily Child in a sharp, wily and resolutely potent dark comedy exploring the transformative dynamics of the corporate world. It will be at the Grindrod Theatre at 10am on September 17 and 12.30pm on September 18. Tickets cost R199.
The festival’s many music choices include Durban’s fine Black Lapels trio saluting the hits of Creedence Clearwater Revival; vivacious singer-pianist Cat Simoni offering the hits of Elton John; and Tonya Koenderman performing various songs in a show titled Around the World.
Then there’s Durban favourite Anthony Stonier with
Showstoppers, a mix of show tunes; and Durban’s Bryan Hiles, Darren King and Rowan Bartlett in a fun show titled Tie a Knot In It, a chaotic romp through the casinos of Las Vegas. Also a standout is Dallae
Story, a theatre piece from Korea in which Hyunsan Jo directs and performs in a non-verbal performance involving puppets, theatrical movement, traditional dance and music.
The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic will present two concerts at the festival, both conducted by Richard Cock – Frank Sinatra and Friends, featuring soloist Nic Nicolaidis; and the charming Peter and the Wolf.
Cock will also present an anecdote-filled presentation,
Conduct Unbecoming, as part of the festival’s lecture series.
For more information on other festival highlights visit http://www.hiltonfestival.co.za or phone 033 383 0126 / 7.
For booking enquiries visit tickets@hiltoncollege.com.