Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Stories connecting cultures
Inthe
We all hope for much-needed rain, however the endless summer is providing an opportunity to get out and enjoy the diverse offerings of theatre and live performance.
Following the official opening of the musical Funny Girl last week at the Fugard in its main theatre, Hemelruim opens in the Fugard Studio on Tuesday.
This production has picked up a bunch of awards and rave reviews while touring the Afrikaans festival circuit over the past two years.
It stars Paul du Toit (who won a Fleur du Cap Theatre award for Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Tinarie van Wyk Loots (who recently dazzled in Marat/Sade).
It will be performed in Afrikaans and accompanied by English subtitles and is on until May 13 (Tuesdays to Saturdays).
Hemelruim is a translation and adaption by Nico Scheepers of Constellations – a play by UK writer Nick Payne. Constellations was staged at the Theatre on the Bay in 2014 (in the original English).
It is a love story with twists. Marianne, a physicist at Sussex University, meets Roland, an apiarist (beekeeper) at a barbecue. It’s told in fits and starts; scenes from the relationship (or how it could play out) are repeated – with varying outcomes.
For Hemelruim, Scheepers has transposed the original UK setting to Cape Town and has conceptualised the design and music: “I have fully adapted this to an Afrikaans, Cape Town context across the board,” he explains.
“Marianne and Roland are ‘ Roelof en Mariaan van Kaapstad; die byeboer en die kosmoloog’. This makes it very accessible to a local audience, sits comfortably in the frame of the actors and allows the narrative to take centre stage.”
Afrikaans is the driving force at the annual Suidoosterfees, which is on predominantly at Artscape from Thursday – Freedom Day (April 27) – to Worker’s Day on May 1. See www.suidoosterfees.co.za for the programme, which includes music, drama, dance, exhibitions and film.
Music tends to transcend language barriers and there is plenty on offer, such The Legends Klassique, at 2pm on May 1, in the Artscape Opera House.
The concert features three music legends: Gloria Bosman, Vicky Sampson and Amanda Strydom.
Hopefully, Sampson will sing the stirring song My AfriKan Dream – which she recorded in 1995 as part of her second album, Zai. The song was written by former Mango Groove keyboardist, Alan Lazar.
In an interview in 2006, when I asked Sampson if she had an inkling of the impact the song would make, she mused: “I knew it was good song, but I had no idea what it would become.
“Alan said ‘I’ve got this song’, and I said ‘okay, play it’ and the next thing it was everywhere. It has become kind of my anthem. I have sung it from here to Vienna to New York.”
Moving out of the city, take a drive to Darling and enjoy The Darling Collection from May 5-7 – which incorporates visual arts, theatre, music and dance.
The festival comes from a project involving 40 Darling residents and eight Dutch students. The residents selected objects (crockery, furniture, jewellery, artworks, cooking utensils, sewing machines) which are important to them.
Over six weeks, the residents and students explored the stories behind the objects.
Darling resident Elza Albertyn selected her violin – her treasured 12th birthday present. However, as a teenager, she had a “love-hate relationship” with the instrument.
When she was 16, she threw it on her bed and “the scars of a frustrated rage” remain on her violin.
Professor Jan Grolleman from the Netherlands, who is artistic director, reflects: “The Darling Col- lection is about the importance of talking to each other; listening to each other; knowing each other; to connect people from different cultures and roots. Each story is worth telling… worth listening to.”
Tickets for Hemelruim are R130, R165. Book at www. computicket.com/0861 915 8000 or call the Fugard on 021 461 4554.
For the Suidoosterfees, book at www.computicket.com. Tickets for The Darling Collection: R15 for a day pass and R30 for weekend pass. Call 082 321 7542 or email info@thedarlingcollection.co.za.