Jazzart Dance Theatre will present 'Biko's Quest' at this year's National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.
At the launch in Brixton, Johannesburg, festival chief executive Tony Lankester referred to a past call by Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile for the arts “community” to speak with a unified voice.
Lankester said that the festival this year would offer an opportunity for a conversation about the role and direction of the arts in difficult times. However Lankester also said that it should be acknowledged that artists should not be expected to present unified opinions.
The programme, Lankester said, was somewhat scaled down this year in anticipation of next year’s 40th festival anniversary which would coincide with the two decades of democracy commemorations.
Festival artistic director Ismail Mohamed presented the programme in detail. This year will consist of many revivals of respected theatrical works that now form part of the local canon.
Headlining the theatre productions is Prince Lamla’s ensemble piece Asinamali, originally created in 1985 by playwright, composer and director Mbongeni Ngema. The play marks the debut of the Soweto Theatre as an associate producer with the Market Theatre and the National Arts Festival on the festival’s main stage. Lamla is this year’s recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artists for Theatre award.
Ngema will also premiere his solo piece The Zulu, a dramatised story about the events that led to the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Lamla will also present Woza Albert! that was originally created in workshop by Ngema, Percy Mtwa and Barney Simon in 1981. Veteran John Kani’s production of The Island will also be staged as part of a showcase of work produced under the umbrella of the Market Theatre.
Activist and writer Mike van Graan makes an appearance as this year’s festival playwright. The Artscape Theatre will stage four of Van Graan’s plays: Writer’s Block, Brothers in Blood, Panic and Rainbow Scars.
Other important cultural moments will be provided by the winners of Standard Bank Young Artists awards for dance (Fana Tshabalala), performance art (Anthea Moys), classical music (Runette Botha), jazz (Shane Cooper) and visual art (Mary Sibande).
But the wackiest concept must surely be the one dreamt up by Moys, who won the first ever Standard Bank award for performance art. She will be presenting Anthea Moys vs The City of Grahamstown in which she will compete against the people of Grahamstown in a tournament of skill, strength, and artistry.
Moys will apparently compete single handedly against a local karate team, will sing with a choir and play with a soccer team.
For programme details visit: www.nationalartsfestival.co.za