Download ASSITEJ SA Newsletter July 2013

What's on in the Western Cape
Artscape theatre centre
Liewe Heksie – July, 17 to July, 19 2013 (± 90 min)
Her name is Levinia and she is a rather incompetent and forgetful witch who lives in
Blommeland. Her stupidity and lack of magical skill lead to many funny situations at the
Theatre. Tickets range from R100 to R140 for adults and from R55 to R75 for children.
9am -12pm
My Vrou se Man se Lyk se Tas – July, 11 until July, 21
Henry Perkins, a typical suburban accountant, exchanged accidentally his case during a
train ride with that of another man, only to find out that the bag contains a small
fortune! Provide Pace grabbed the unforeseen and what follows is a frenetic pace of
hysterical humour!
Shakespeare Schools Festival SA – July, 29 to August, 1
This exciting festival from the United Kingdom encourages schools to perform abridged
(30 minute) versions of Shakespearean plays in local professional theatres.
Baxter
Solomon and Marion – July, 10 to July, 20
A story of two injured souls searching for redemption in the fragile, post-apartheid
South Africa. As the new South Africa prepares for the World Cup finals, old divisions
and suspicions seem as deep as ever, and the intruder she has been expecting, dreading
and needing arrives. Can true reconciliation turn darkness into hope?
My name is Rachel Corrie – July, 12 to July, 27
On 16 March 2003, Rachel Corrie, a twenty-three-year-old American, was crushed to
death by an Israeli Army bulldozer in Gaza as she was trying to prevent the demolition
of a Palestinian home. My Name Is Rachel Corrie is a one-woman play composed from
Rachel's own journals, letters and e-mails – creating a portrait of a messy, articulate,
Salvador Dali-loving chain-smoker (with a passion for the music of Pat Benatar), who
left her home and school in Olympia, Washington, to work as an activist in the heart of
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Sadako – July, 30 to August, 10
At two, Sadako survived the Hiroshima atom bomb but ten years later she developed
leukaemia. A Japanese legend tells: 'If you fold 1000 origami cranes, your wish will be
granted'; Sadako began folding paper.
Theatre Arts Admin Collective
When two estranged childhood friends fall into a concussion
at the same moment they meet in each other’s confused
minds. Their bodies are broken but their thoughts are very
loud as they reach out for contact. While piecing together
fragments of self they are drawn back to 1997; the year of Ninja
Turtles, learning to ride bicycles and R.Kelly's 'I believe I can
fly'. The year when childhood naivety was first shot through
with pangs of childhood shame. And the year when their
friendship was built up and broken down by a place in which it
is impossible for even a child to feel at ease.
In a metaphysical world where knees become trees and
siblings can be purchased for the price of one tazo, ‘The Year
of the Bicycle’ skips from the lightness of play to the dark
borders of loneliness. This is a play for anyone who ever lay
awake in the night reaching out for the fingertips of another.
"A piece of theatre that will leave you breathless" - Cue
"An exceptionally well acted piece that keeps you guessing" Cue
What's on in Gauteng
Market theatre
The Mountain Top - 12 June -21 July
The South African staging of the play is directed by Warona Seane, and features
powerhouse performances from acting veterans Sello Sebotsane and Mwenya Kabwe.
Asinamali – July, 26 to August, 18
age restriction: 13
Written by Mbongeni Ngema, this is a tale of five black prisoners brought together in a
South African prison. Each of these men has a story, as one gleefully tells of his affairs
with his white master’s wife; another lustily acts out the life of his hero, an urban conman. Others tell of their frustrating, humiliating search for works permit. Others speak
of their involvement with Dube’s movement, yet all spit out their contempt for the
police informers who contributed to his death.
National children’s theatre
Honk Jr - Until july, 21
Honk Jr tells the inspiring story of the Ugly Duckling with freshness, verve and charm.
Life lessons abound in this highly polished show, principally, of course, the theme of
being different, and so ostracised and outcast. Perfect way to learn that difference is
beautiful, difference is to be cherished.
People’s Theatre
Disney’s Aristocats Kids - Until July, 28
The delightful story of Duchess, her three naughty kittens and O’Malley the Alley Cat
and his disreputable friends, is one of the favourites in the Disney catalogue. As usual,
People’s Theatre has put together a lively, colourful show mixing adult professionals in
a variety of roles and a cast of talented children.
The Joburg theatre
Starlight express – July, 11 to September, 01
Produced by the theatre’s Chief Executive Officer, BERNARD JAY, the all-South African
company promises to take you on the ride of a lifetime - with two hours of speed,
spectacle, energy, daredevil stunts and turbo-charged excitement, combined with
dazzling sets and costumes, extraordinary roller-choreography and some of Andrew
Lloyd Webber’s most memorable musical hits. Essentially a rock musical, STARLIGHT
EXPRESS follows a child’s dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the
actors perform wearing roller skates.
Disney’s Aristocats Kids – July, 11 to July,28
The delightful story of Duchess, her three naughty kittens and O’Malley the Alley Cat
and his disreputable friends, is one of the favourites in the Disney catalogue. As usual,
People’s Theatre has put together a lively, colourful show mixing adult professionals in
a variety of roles and a cast of talented children.
Montecasino
Swan Lake - 10 to 27 July
Its spectacular and dramatic Ballroom scene, sublime music and deeply moving story, is
the ballet that towers above all others.
What's on in KZN
The Loft Theatre (Playhouse Company)
Mother to mother – July, 31 to August, 3
Time: 12pm and 7.30 pm
Ticket Price: Schools: 31 July, 1-2 August – R35.00 ; All other performances – R80.00
This production of Sindiwe Magona's haunting testimonial of the mother of a killer to
the mother of a victim is brought to life through a tour-de-force solo performance by
Thembi Mtshali-Jones, directed by Janice Honeyman.
She died dreaming – July, 25-27
This fast paced, high class story of an ambitious, glamorous and slightly wild career
woman seeking that final piece to complete the package – LOVE, will keep you on the
edge! Join her and her friends on this funny, sometimes poignant, journey in search of
the perfect life and love. Written and directed by the acclaimed Jullian Seleke Mokoto,
receiver of two FNB Vita Awards.
7pm
Si right! – July, 22 to August, 16
Si Right! is about a teenage boy, Thusom and his younger sister, Thandeka, who set out
from their village on a quest to seek understanding. It is a production with songs and
dance aimed at senior primary learners, with a strong focus on instilling positive
behaviour in kids and inspiring them to make the right choices in life.
(Mobile stage)
Hope Springs - Join the Uprising!
A gritty youth drama based on a real juvenile correctional facility.
Never underestimate the power of the young.
Hope Springs
RSPA Youth Theatre Production
Catalina Theatre, Wilsons Wharf
24 – 28 July 7pm. Sat and Sun matinee 2pm.
Tickets available through www.computicket.com (search Hope Springs)
or call 08619158000
Director: Gill Brunings
Info: www.rspa.co.za
Tickets: R80/person. Group booking discounts are available.
The play is based on a real Juvenile Correctional Facility called
“Tranquility Bay”, ran by an American business and closed down in
2004, after news, regarding the way children were treated leaked out
to the media.
Set on an idyllic island, the story follows a group of teenagers who
were sent to a ‘correctional facility’ as a last resort for their
bad behaviour.
Their daily routine slowly unfolds as the play progresses, revealing
a torturous life of discipline and obedience. A life in which the
teachers dictate their every move, from what they do with their
time, to what they eat, to even attempting to control what they
think. Their parents originally sent them to this facility under the
impression that it would make them into respectable citizens.
Events take a drastic turn for the worse when one of the pupils
decides to take matters into their own hands. This sparks a
rebellion reminiscent of ‘Animal Farm’. Two hapless inspectors
travel to the island at just the wrong time, and it is because of
these two that the terrible events of the past are revealed.
Message from the author, Richard Conlon, for the SA premiere
production:- Unusually for a playwright, I can be very specific
about when the inspiration for Hope Springs hit me; Decca
Aitkenhead’s article ‘The Last Resort’ was published in the UK’s
Observer Magazine on the 29th May 2003 and by April 2004 the play
was premiered. The article shocked and disturbed me and I stuck
closely to the truth of what Decca had discovered during her stay at
a real ‘privately run youth correction facility’. ‘The programme’
the young people live under is real, ‘observational placement’ is
real, the way young people are taken by surprise and force to a
facility is real, the way parents sign over 49% of their rights to
their own children...all real. My writerly, imaginative input is to
ask ‘what would happen if there were some kind of rebellion or
revolution?. Hope Springs is my answer to that question. The play
has now been staged and studied in many English-speaking countries
but curiously not (as far as I know) in the USA which is the home of
the privately run youth correctional facility. The play asks
questions about the use and abuse of power and I hope it doesn’t
hide from the fact that the issue has two sides - as one pupils
says: “We aren’t saints are we? There’s something, something that
each and every one of has done which our parents were worried about,
worried sick about – but none of you ever put yourselves in their
place do you?... I was argumentative, disrespectful, I was smoking,
drinking, staying out and going to places where it was wiser to keep
my distance – and my parents put a stop to that, because they
cared.”I have never written a darker or more complex play than Hope
Springs, but young casts and their directors have risen to the
challenge time after time – my hope is that a tiny piece of Hope
Springs stays with those young people as they emerge into adulthood.
It may, at some point, be of some use to them.
Crossings - International Artistic Workshop
Call for applications for choreographers, dancers, composers and
lighting designers – Crossings 2013
The third edition of the Crossings International Artistic Workshop will
take place in Cape Town from 8 to 17 November 2013.
Crossings is an
international workshop for professional choreographers, composers,
dancers and lighting designers under the supervision of a team of
international and established artists.
Click here to download the guidelines and applications form.
Deadline
8 August 2013