Adam Haupt On stage in Cape Town
The Buwa Theatre Company is currently hosting the FNB Vita/ City of Cape Town/ Ikhwezi Community Theatre Festival at the Baxter Theatre until February 7. This festival is singular because community theatre seldom finds its way into mainstream theatre spaces such as the Baxter. Apart from the fact that such spaces are often very far from where ”people’s culture” develops organically, there is also the small matter of exorbitant hiring fees and commission.
This particular festival promises to turn some of these negatives into positives by placing a rather ambitious programme on the cards. A combination of both workshops and performances will be presented so as to make the event decidedly participatory. Key performers such as Itumeleng Wa-Lehulere, Jenny Reznek, Cathy Dodder and Jacqui Smith will lead workshops on aspects of story- telling, children’s theatre, movement, stage management, lighting and puppetry design.
Zakes Mda, the author of the captivating magic-realist novel Ways of Dying, promises to draw crowds when he presents a creative writing workshop. The afternoon and evening sessions feature highlights such as Down Adderley Street, which is directed by Itumeleng Wa-Lehulere and deals with the lives of Cape Town’s street children. Wa- Lehulere’s production has already run at the Baxter and the Market Theatre in Johannesburg.
There is also Women Unite’s Gap Toothed Sisters which delves into the often abusive experiences of women in the townships. The interesting thing about this play is that it is a musical and that Women Unite is an all-female dance marimba group. Women’s perspectives on abuse and violence are not heard nearly often enough and the unusual medium which this company chose promises to invite much engagement.
The festival’s seemingly specific African appeal becomes important if spaces such as the Baxter are to be made accessible to all. In the past there have been brief-yet- brilliant moments such as The People’s Youth Arts Festival in 1990, when ordinary kids from the townships and suburbs mingled in a wonderfully creative atmosphere. Time will tell whether Buwa will be able to reinitiate such an atmosphere for very long.
This task is not easy to perform in a space that is already overdetermined by an elitist culture which now finds itself stuck with hypnotists and charismatic show- stoppers.
The FNB Vita/ City of Cape Town/ Ikhwezi Community Theatre Festival runs at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town until February 7