Billy Suter
IT WAS a case of the show must go on at the 19th annual Hilton Arts Festival at Hilton College which, although rocked by political objections to Israeli plays being included on the bill, went off without a hitch at the weekend.
Making use of a stronger security presence, the organisers rated the three-day event a big success, with 82 percent of tickets sold by late yesterday afternoon, including near sellouts for the three Israeli plays – The Timekeepers, Volunteer Man and My First Sony.
During the final bows of the first staging of the festival’s flagship production, The Timekeepers, a drama centred on growing friendship in a concentration camp, one of the three cast members, Roy Horovitz, thanked the audience for their support and, to cheers and applause, commended the festival committee for separating culture and politics.
In the days leading up to the festival, organisations had called for the Israeli plays to be withdrawn from the festival.
On Thursday night, Durban actor, rapper and graffiti artist Iain “Ewok” Robinson informed the festival organisers he was pulling out of his performances the following morning as he had signed the South African Artists Against Apartheid declaration in support of the Palestinian call for a boycott, disinvestment and sanctions against the “apartheid Israeli government”.
Durban actors Janna Ramos-Violante and Darren King stepped in to improvise entertainment for the 200 schoolchildren who had booked to see Robinson perform, said festival artistic director Sue Clarence.
Festival chairman Iain McMillan said the festival organisers had decided to present the Israeli shows because “we need to reiterate the Hilton Festival’s commitment to freedom of expression”.
“We need to make it absolutely clear that the inclusion of these works in no way reflects the festival’s endorsement, or otherwise, of the state of Israel or its policies. It has always been the festival’s intention to provide our audiences with challenging drama, reflecting our belief that art in a democracy should transcend political agendas and deal with human issues,” said MacMillan.
Clarence said next year’s festival would be held over four days.