Take the name of devillish director Jaco Bouwer, the combination of veteran actors Louis van Niekerk and Marius Weyers, playwrights Deon Opperman and Chris Vorster, translated works by David Mamet as well as the South African premiere of Will Eno’s tragicomic Thom Pain starring the astonishing Albert Pretorius, and you understand that Aardklop is angling for a good theatre crowd this year.
The Clover Aardklop National Arts Festival, which runs from October 4 to 9 in Potchefstroom, features acclaimed productions from other festivals – yet always promotes the creation of new South African works, new productions of existing Afrikaans plays and translated works of renowned playwrights.
Bouwer, who last silenced audiences with the frightening Skrapnel (also playing at the National Arts Festival), teams up with young Cape playwright Tertius Kapp, who was involved in avant garde productions such as Skroothonde, set in a scrapyard.
They should create fireworks with the unsettling Rooiland as they shine the spotlight on gang structures in South African jails.
Bouwer, who is particularly strong on conceptualisation and has been studying and experimenting in Amsterdam these past few years, is playing with light in a piece titled lig, which he describes as a combination of theatre and performance art in which beliefs surrounding science, philosophy and theatre are juxtaposed.
Opperman hopes to strike twice as he again includes last year’s star actor, Andre Odendaal, in his latest play Aantrekkingskrag, also starring Franci Swanepoel, who has returned to the stage with a bang following her absence of a few years while working on the TV soapie Binnelanders.
Treading familiar territory, the playwright’s focus falls on the complexity of relationships.
Fellow playwright Chris Vorster turns to comedy in Buurtwag, which should have most neighbours giggling, while author Jan van Tonder (on whose novel the recent movie Roepman is based) makes his theatre debut with a farce, Die Onbeholpe djin, starring Neels Coetzee, Erica Wessels and Deon Lotz.
He plays with the idea that the grass is always greener and warns that you should be careful what you wish for, especially when you’re busy adding shine to that rather old lamp.
Ageing again raises its head with Louise van Niekerk’s Ouma Wys Angel, which takes a comical and honest look at the challenges facing a grandmother but, as the title suggests, she’s not going to walk into the sunset mildly or meekly.
One of Pieter Fourie’s most gripping dramas, Mooi Maria, returns to the stage with Albert Maritz as director, starring Isadora Verwey, Roeline Daneel, Neels van Jaarsveld and André Roothman, while a work from another veteran playwright, Mamet’s Duck Variations, translated as Eendsonderend, plays with seasoned actors Marius Weyers and Louis van Niekerk, who join forces in this comedy-drama dealing with two elderly men contemplating the trials and tribulations of life.
Another translation, Jon Fosse’s Doodsvariasies (Death Variations), is a drama about a couple grappling with their daughter’s suicide. André Stolz directs.
Also worth seeing are Sylvaine Strike’s The Table; Charles Fourie’s Agterplaas; Dis Koue Kos, Skat with Elzabé Zietsman; Nag, Ma and Janneman (both featuring Sandra Prinsloo); director Nicola Hanekom’s Lot (winner of several awards at the KKNK); and the disturbing Wees, directed by Hennie van Greunen and starring the sublime Hanekom, who seems to turn anything she touches to gold.
Aardklop always features a strong music programme that covers a wide variety, including light music and classical music. Rock concerts get a boost this year with three different venues with their own distinct programme.
Rock will no longer only be part of a one-off concert on the final weekend. This year, the Vodacom/ MK Bultfantasties will present daily concerts with hours of music featuring groups and artists such as Van Coke Kartel, Karin Zoid, Jack Parow, The Parlotones, Locnville, GoodLuck and many more.
The who’s who of the popular Afrikaans music industry can be seen at the Clover Music Arena (Tuesday to Saturday). Included in the line-up are Steve Hofmeyr, Theuns Jordaan, Gerhard Steyn, Nianell, Kurt Darren, Bok van Blerk, Juanita du Plessis and Robbie Wessels.
The amphitheatre is another venue with a difference, with the following shows: Coenie en Evita, classics and 1970s meet and greet (Zanne Stapelberg and Joseph Clark), singing guitars and comedy sketches in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, and Legends Singing Legends with Piet Botha and PJ Powers performing the work of artists who have inspired them.
Nataniël, Chris Chameleon, Mathys Roets, Lize Beekman, Myra Maud and Mel Botes bring new shows to Potchefstroom and Pedro Kruger, Amanda Strydom, pianist Rocco de Villiers and violinist Annake de Villiers perform together on one stage, while Laurinda Hofmeyr, Riku Lätti and Les Javan show their own brand of amazing music.
On a classical note, the celebrated piano duo of Nina Schumann and Luis Magalhães, known as TwoPianists, will have a special recital on the Sunday which replaces Petronel Malan, who cancelled her South African tour after begin diagnosed with rheumatic fever.
This year’s festival artist, Sam Nhlegethwa, showcases his paintings, collage and printmaking works.
On one hand Nhlegethwa is known for his focus on jazz artists and their culture, and on the other as a socio-political commentator.
As a bonus there is a separate exhibition showcasing Nhlegethwa’s extensive private art collection, which includes works of William Kentridge, Gerard Sekoto and Marlene Dumas.
Solo exhibitions of Frank van Reenen, Marie Stander, Rina Stutzer and Wendy Malan also form part of the exciting fine arts programme.
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