A celebrity system does exist in South Africa and was very much in evidence at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees
Kathryn Smith
When Giovanni de Medici (Frans Marx) took Alfonsina de Medici (Sandra Prinsloo) from behind in Deon Opperman’s Magspel, and with each thrust itemised the various parts of Florence she will own after their “deal” was consummated, the audience’s trepidation was almost palpable. Where would the ordentlike drama go from here?
But with Marx as an outrageously good camped-up cardinal complete with red frock, and Prinsloo playing the devil’s advocate at her icy-cool best, there were no irate tannies to speak of. Magspel, a cunningly scripted production, was without a doubt the highlight of a very brief but rip-roaring Oudtshoorn experience.
The directorship of this year’s Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) cannot be accused of being unadventurous. A quick scan of the main festival’s drama programme will reveal the likes of the Fopspeen Live Art company’s rather weird Ararat butting heads with more sober offerings – from Jana Cilliers’s Opdrag: Ingrid Jonker to David Butler’s A Touch of Madness. The dance programme is unfortunately rather lean, but the light music and cabaret offerings have run rampant with possibilities.
Last Friday night’s performance of A Touch of Madness drove home how bizarre the combination of serious art and simple vermaak can be. As Butler took the stage in an impressive interpretation of the inimitable Herman Charles Bosman, the sounds of cheesy pop began filtering into the auditorium, so loud we could even hear the lyrics. The KKNK’s afskop celebrations – featuring Patricia Lewis, Steve Hofmeyr and friends – proved an intrusive opponent to what would have been an arresting piece of theatre. No mean feat for a live music event taking place halfway across town. But thumbs up to Butler, whose professionalism remained flawlessly intact.
Despite this hiccup, one thing is clear: Oudtshoorn culture-vultures (nothing rhymes with ostrich) are seriously spoilt for choice. Where the main festival is more or less accounted for in terms of standards, fringe events can often (perhaps unfairly) be judged by the quality and quantity of posters plastered around the town. If one was to use this crude method of selection, one would end up rather depressed at the level of misrepresentation at play.
This seems to have been the case with the sole festival scandal to date – that of Jani van der Westhuizen’s naughty poster for her play Vote for Me. While the brouhaha rages, and people debate the merits of pasting the mugs of General Constand Viljoen, Dr Louis Luyt and Eugene Terre’Blanche on to tribal women’s torsoes, the poster seems to say more about the contemporary use of the computer to create special effects than the use of graphic art to enhance culture.
Not so with the truly excellent Saatchi & Saatchi poster and print-ad campaign for the festival. A personal favourite features a tube of Windsor and Newton Burnt Sienna oil paint emitting a perfectly coiled, uncooked length of boerewors, on a griddle and ready to go. The copy reads: “Kuns met gevoel uitgedruk.” Cheers! The “2 is beter as een” campaign for SABC2 is equally amusing. A gorgeous dolla grins for the camera with only one front tooth, and a hapless man sits on a see-saw, unable to experience the full benefits of this contraption.
Despite the noticeable presence of many corporate sponsors and promoters, the KKNK emerges as a considered package that is not evangelical about touting their backers. Each has their own unique hook, from the bourgeois-chic of the Sarie cyber-boutique to the free-for-all Huisgenoot Cantina, complete with sombrero-bedecked rollerbladers. And the SABC2 “spaar jou sole” minibuses deliver on their promise to do just that.
After a kultuur-filled weekend, I get the distinct impression that a celebrity system does exist in South Africa, despite Natanil’s frequent whingings to the contrary. And the public support for such purveyors of pleasure is adequately matched by artists’ support for each other’s efforts. Many a well-known face was spotted taking in a spot of theatre for the benefit of a fellow thespian.
At a time when the Grahamstown National Arts Festival’s future lies in the balance, we look elsewhere for cultural showcases. Despite facing the loss of its main sponsor, it has become too large and amorphous to really benefit either artist or audience. Work at the KKNK seems to largely depart from the Grahamstown focus on earnest, highbrow culture, taking its cue from the popular appeal of cabaret and light entertainment. Should you encounter the more serious stuff along the way, you can take it or leave it.
As for fine art – the discipline which seems to suffer most from general misunderstanding – the pressure at such a festival “to get it” is somewhat lifted. The viewing of art becomes a chance encounter with the ability to empower audiences to look more closely. Here, in the galleries, one often finds a smattering of friends casually sharing experiences of interpretation and pleasure. The Drawings in Light show, as well as the kykNET- sponsored exhibition of animated films by artists, are the kinds of shows that have had the ability to seduce – without intimidating.
When next in Oudsthoorn, make sure to pay a visit to Foster’s Folly, an otherworldly guesthouse once the “feather palace” of an ostrich baron. It is here that I have retired each evening, feeling secure and rather content in the knowledge that there is an appreciative and willing audience for a diverse range of work out there.
The KKNK may be predominantly Afrikaans and to encounter some 100E000 predicted festival visitors who are proud and protective of their language and culture could be intimidating, but in this context it has come across as reassuring. Not least of all because of the warmhartigheid of the town’s locals.