FOR theatre enthusiasts, this was an extraordinary year at Potchefstroom’s annual Aardklop arts festival which was especially so because of three directors; elder statesman Marthinus Basson, whizz Jaco Bouwer and young turk Christiaan Olwagen.
It’s a thrill to witness their genius year after year and this time it felt as if they had almost collaborated in the way their shows had a certain similarity in weight, yet all dealt with completely different subject matter.
Collaboration also featured strongly in each individual work which is what also stood out at this year’s festival. Put different artists together and you cannot but expect fireworks. If young opera singer Magdalene Minnaar steps on stage with the supreme duo, musical director/accompanist Janine Neethling and bass guitarist Schalk Joubert, and does songs from the heart (Taal van My Hart), sparks are bound to fly – and they did.
Not everyone’s taste perhaps, but what is exciting of this young operatic talent is her derring-do as she leaps into genres seemingly without fear. It pays off with such an exquisite voice which she bends, blends and blasts at will to suit particular songs.
Dipping into a more relaxed folk-driven genre, hopefully next time she will again shift the boundaries even more extremely.
She had enough on her plate as the producer and star of the first Afrikaans opera of the new millennium titled Die Poskantoor. Around her she gathered the most impressive team possible with composer Braam du Toit, writer Tertius Kapp for the libretto and the wildly imaginative Bouwer to pull it all together on stage as director and designer. These three have collaborated before which already brings a certain wisdom to the project, but the most exciting aspect was that given a new opera in a time when the art form is struggling worldwide, they were determined to try something new.
It’s a carnival with Bouwer infusing it with a slight macabre edge (think Sweeny Todd), Kapp delivering lyrics with poetic aplomb and Du Toit filling the auditorium with music that’s edgy yet accessible. Winning the prize for Best production at the festival (which assures a run in Cape Town, while they are already part of next year’s National Arts Festival), the director pointed out that three weeks’ rehearsal time on a new opera is madness and there was much more to be done.
Absolutely. Work on such a grand scale with all their financial restraints will face restrictions, but these artists have learnt to manage these complications to give audiences the best they have and then when they get to the next festival (or, hopefully, a run in a proper theatre), they move on to a next level. Subtitles in this instance were perhaps the thing that was missed most. They will be introduced for Grahamstown, but even for Afrikaans audiences, it was often difficult to follow the lyrics. When you have someone like Kapp writing, you don’t want to miss a word.
Visually and vocally, it was spectacular and because the cast was so carefully selected, they had a blast which rubbed off on those of us who are keen for this genre to function in a contemporary world.
Finally, we had something to smile about when thinking of a post office.
Bouwer also conceptualised and guided the limber De Klerk Oelofse to his Best Actor award in Na-Aap, with his adaptation of Kafka’s Report to the Academy with the slickest application of multimedia to date. And the prize must have softened last year’s disappointing blow when the actor slipped on the stairs during the first performance and had to cancel the festival run.
Basson has no such slips as he teams up with Belgium writer Tom Lanoye for a second time (their earlier collaboration was on Mama Medea) with the extraordinarily brilliant and sometimes befuddling Bloed en Rose: Die Lied van Jeanne en Gilles. The text was translated by the director, overseen by poet Daniel Hugo who has just scored an Academy prize for the translation of Lanoye’s Sprakeloos, the writer’s memoir.
The play tells the story of Jeanne d’Arc with her religious fervour and the aristocratic Gilles de Rais, a knight and serial killer, how their lives intertwined, the effect the one had on the other, their representation of light and darkness, two sides of a coin, but also traits that all humans will recognise on their best and worst days.
This is a director who makes theatre he loves. He believes he has an audience who will follow – and he does. His choices aren’t easy, but they make you think, go back again, scratch around for more, have discussions about the meaning and wallow in the visual splendour that is a Basson trademark. From the reflecting semi-transparent panels that contain or cast off light, costumes that capture characters including the director-crocheted skull caps worn by acting muses Dawid Minnaar who represents commerce and Antoinette Kellerman as the church, it reaches for perfection.
It is the shimmering ensemble with André Roothman and Nicola Hanekom in the title roles, Anna-Mart van der Merwe as the queen and Wessel Pretorius as the crown prince with Stian Bam concluding this bristling bunch that adds flesh to the tale. They never let up as they switch between characters as they move from Jeanne to focus on Gilles. They are supported by the University of Stellenbosch Vocal Ensemble who represent Jeanne’s voices and later, the demonic sounds that filter through the killer’s head.
Three hours long, Basson again takes that leap that even a festival audience will take time out to grapple with Lanoye’s dense text so deftly staged by a director who defies dumbing down. Theatre enthusiasts deserve to experience such mind-bending staging.
He isn’t done with you yet as he turns to another playwright he admires, Yasmina Reza, and recalls three former students, Christiaan Olwagen, Wessel Pretorius and Wilhelm van der Walt, to recreate Art which they had presented as students. It’s a play that’s been around locally with piercing writing from an extraordinary playwright, and it’s glorious to see these gifted youngsters tackle this one with gusto. It’s one that should be resurrected every five years by this trio. Ageing will add to the texture of the work which is already a blast. Hopefully it will go on national circuit.
Director Olwagen also returns with his semi-biographical Dogma which had its debut this year at Oudtshoorn’s KKNK. Yet another exciting ensemble including Eric Holm, Tinarie van Wyk Loots, Rolanda Marais, Albert Pretorius, Roelof Storm, Marileng Balebye and Bontle Wichterich-Mohane teamed with collaborators Charl-Johan Lingenfelder (music) and Ina Wichterich (choreography) who add layers with their contributions.
Olwagen also pursues his passion for the classics which started with last year’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as he turns to Chekov’s The Seagull (another tantalising translation by Saartjie Botha). Die Seemeeu gathers a powerful cast in stature and numbers with Sandra Prinsloo, Marius Weyers, Deon Lotz, Martelize Kolver, Cintaine Schutte, Alyzzander Fourie, Geon Nel, Albert Pretorius, Gerben Kamper and Rolanda Marais as Nina which secured her the Best Actress award for a performance that stops the laughter in its tracks as she ripples with vulnerability to expose Nina’s yearnings and loss.
When reading Chekov, the director explains, he cracks up constantly. It’s that hilarity which he brings to stage, never letting go of Chekov’s melancholic disposition. It’s a courageous production from a fresh perspective with a cast who delightfully trip over their own egos to tell this story so deliciously. Kudos all around from the director who won the prize for the Most Cutting-Edge Production, to designer Birrie le Roux for costumes that have you gasping and an ensemble who are willing to make merry and madness, yet never let go of the heart of the play.
At almost 170 minutes, another stretch for a festival, this one had the crowds smiling and that cannot always be said of the classics.
Olwagen wears a Joseph’s coat as he waltzes between genres, playing, writing and directing his own work and holding on to the classics which he presents with a young set of eyes.
Some more sweet spots
• FESTIVAL artist Gerhard Marx astonished with his exhibition titled The Garden at Night with pieces made from plant material and thread-fine roots to create a vision of a world that isn’t quite as easily navigated as it sometimes seems. He asks tough questions while magically making work that stops your world – just for a moment.
• The ATKV (Afrikaanse Taalen Kultuurvereniging) in collaboration with Diek Grobler and Fopspeen Films presented poetry by well know poets (Breyten Breytenbach, Antjie Krog, Adam Small, Loftus Marais and Danie Marais) animated by different artists. It’s a contemporary vision of some beautiful poetry in Afrikaans that runs on a loop for approximately 40 minutes.
• Rachelle Greeff’s Rondomskrik (inspired by the horror of the Anene Booysen tragedy), directed by Hennie van Greunen, with an ensemble cast including Shaleen Surtie-Richards, Lee-Ann van Rooi, Cheryl-Donna Roberts
and Richard September, tells an important story about a community bleeding from every pore as individuals attempt to crack open the tiniest windows and doors of opportunity. In a country where we still live such separate lives, it’s a drama that gives you the heartbeat rather than the headlines. Watch out for it when it comes your way. This is a company that tours.
• In as important a story, the versatile duo, Lee-Ann van Rooi and Cheryl-Donna Roberts, joined another ensemble cast with Elton Landrew, Gideon Lombard and Waldemar Schultz in the extraordinary Saartjie Botha adaptation Bidsprinkaan (directed joyously by Janice Honeyman) which started its run last year at the Woordfees, but hasn’t lost any life or momentum as it touches your soul. – Diane de Beer