The Playhouse’s New Stages 2015 season offers thought-provoking, engaging and entertaining productions, writes Latoya Newman
The Playhouse Company’s New Stages Festival 2015 looks set to be a major highlight on Durban’s theatre calendar next month.
Seemingly always bringing to the stage productions that encourage dialogue and debate around pertinent matters affecting South Africans, this year’s programme also boasts some hot-topic offerings.
The festival brings to the stage some of the country’s best talent in music, dance and drama during the month, including Dr John Kani, Atandwa Kani, Nat Ramabulana, Susan Danford and more.
Themes to be explored include transformation, race relations, social cohesion and the experience of exiles returning to a new South Africa.
These will be explored in productions like Hayani, a play by Atandwa Kani, Warren Nebe and Ramabulana; Missing, Tony-award-winning actor and writer John Kani’s first full-length play since Nothing But The Truth (2002); Bhakti, the award-winning dance-theatre production, a collaboration which joins dancers from the acclaimed Flatfoot Dance Company and the Playhouse Dance Residency; and Seven Deadly Sins, entertain-ment duo Aaron McIlroy and Lisa Bobbert’s latest comedy offering.
The Playhouse CEO and artistic director, Linda Bukhosini, spoke with Tonight about some of the productions on offer.
Commenting on Hayani – which reflects on the meaning of “home” in a South African context – she said it’s the honesty of the piece which will grab the audience.
“There is a very real honesty in how these two actors bare their souls in narrating very personal stories and experiences in front of strangers. It not only takes skill and talent to get this real, but these two gutsy young men skilfully crafted a beautiful storyline and eloquently narrate it on stage, and with such energy.”
John Kani’s Missing, which touches on the experiences of those in exile who are returning to South Africa, is another major highlight on the programme.
“If for nothing else, it is worthwhile to watch Dr John Kani. Bra John, once again, eloquently and regally comes onto the stage, if only to narrate a particular message.
“It is fitting for the arts community, and I am referring to a distinct difference between artistry versus entertainment, to take its rightful place in engaging society to keep constructive dialogues alive in order to make meaningful contributions to rebuild and strengthen the moral fibre in our nation.”
Bukhosini added that the arts have the ability to cross boundaries on many levels.
“A good arts programme educates, builds bridges that create understanding and tolerance towards the other. It is sometimes entertaining, it brings back beauty into people’s souls, yet sometimes prods audiences to ponder difficult issues with the intention of contributing towards good for all humanity.”
• The Playhouse’s New Stages Season runs from the first to the last week in May. Tickets for all productions are available through Computicket. For specials and block booking discounts, call 031 369 9596, 031 369 9540 or 031 369 9456.
TAKING STAGE BY STORM
Here’s a glance at what’s on the menu for New Stages 2015:
• Hayani: A vibrant home-grown play by Atandwa Kani, Warren Nebe and Nat Ramabulana. Hayani, which means “home” in Venda, tells the story of two young black South African men trying to establish themselves in a country that is yet to define itself. Their journeys begin with each taking a trip back “home” as they weave their personal narratives and try to better understand who they are. The play enjoyed phenomenal success when it was performed previously in South Africa and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year. Performances at the Loft Theatre are on May 6 and 7 (for schools) and May 7 to 10 May for the public. There is a PG age restriction.
• Missing: Dr John Kani teams up with theatre bluebloods, Janice Honeyman (director) and Mannie Manim (lighting designer), to bring to life this intriguing love story-cum-political thriller. Missing tells of an exiled comrade who returns to South Africa with his Swedish wife and engaged daughter. Expecting to take up an illustrious new career in the newly democratic government, he finds an unexpected rival in one of his closest ex-comrades. The play raises several important issues faced by those who went into exile and hoped to be recalled by the ANC to join the government and take up a new life in a new South Africa. Performances at the Drama Theatre from May 12 to 15 (for schools) and May 15 to May 17 for the public.
• Bhakti: This award-winning dance-theatre production, celebrating the union of KZN’s diverse cultures, has to be seen and heard to be believed. Twenty of Durban’s most skilled contemporary dancers collaborate with some of the city’s most talented and classically trained musicians and dancers to create a joyous inter-cultural fusion of dance, the spoken word, film and music that promises to take Durban by storm. Featuring the Flatfoot Dance Company, the Playhouse Dance Residency, Mandla Matsha, Vishen Kemraj, Madala Kunene, Iain Ewok Robinson and more. Performances at the Drama Theatre are on May 28 and May 29 (for schools) and May 29 to May 31 for the public.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Bringing a dose of laughter and fun is comedy power couple Aaron McIlroy and Lisa Bobbert in this wicked comedy which centres on the age-old sins of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. The duo promise a side-splitting journey through life to discover why people very rarely, if ever, stick to the straight and narrow path of morality and virtue. Performances in the Loft Theatre from May 21 to 24. There is an age restriction of 10 years. – source: The Playhouse