A new family venue arrives at the National Arts Festival this year, aiming to bring excellent and engaging experiences of the arts to young people and their families. The ASSITEJ SA Family Venue will come back for the next three years, as well as inviting local and international artists to share high quality theatre productions.
A new family venue arrives at the National Arts Festival this year, aiming to bring excellent and engaging experiences of the arts to young people and their families. The ASSITEJ SA Family Venue will come back for the next three years, as well as inviting local and international artists to share high quality theatre productions.
The productions at this family venue are a stimulating and varied mix, designed to enchant and entertain audiences, while also inspiring local theatre makers to see the unlimited potential of theatre for young audiences. This year’s programme boasts productions by some of the most esteemed theatre-makers for young audiences from across the country.
From Cape Town comes Theatre for Africa under the helm of Nicholas Ellenbogen, bringing two productions, the cult comedy show Raiders, which has for some 22 years been a staple of family entertainment at the festival, as well as a new piece called Of Birds and Beasts, a beautiful selection of stories performed in Theatre for Africa’s inimitable physical style, directed by Pieter Bosch Botha.
Grahamstown’s favourite resident family company, Ubom!, now under artistic direction from Rob Murray – brings Eco-Wolf and the Three Pigs, which is a delicious twist on the well-known fairytale, with an underlying environmental message.
From Kwa-Zulu Natal, theatre stalwart Garth Anderson brings the classic Tales from the Brothers Grimm, starring well-known Durban actress Robyn Hailey Wells in a feast of familiar stories told with freshness, energy and aplomb.
From Johannesburg comes Adlib Musical Productions’s Pitterpat the Crazee Caterpillar, an amazing magical musical journey using an ingenious combination of screen, stage and sound. The perfectly pitched stage combination of Lynn Joffee and Adam Howard bring this piece to life through the power of music and the imagination.
Anex Theatre Productions’s Global Ball Game has successfully performed in the Western Cape and uses singing, dancing and acting to involve every age in its important subject matter, in an engaging and entertaining way.
Kitchen Fables in a Cookie Jar is an intriguing and delightfully captivating theatre experience for all the senses from Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award winner 2011, Jori Snell and her Cape Town-based company Baba Yaga Theatre.
This Danish performer, known for her cutting-edge non-verbal performances, brings an artful mix of physical storytelling, dreamy landscapes and imaginative visuals to the stage.
Finally, OddBody Theatre presents Hats, the sold-out hit of the 2010 Festival (marking its 11th festival run this year), which has played to full houses and standing ovations since it was first created in 2009. Pieter Bosch Botha’s direction of this non-verbal story of friendship, love and loss creates fast-paced, fun entertainment for the whole family, while also offering a profoundly moving narrative.
“We believe this venue will set a precedent for offering families attractive and meaningful entertainment as a viable and affordable alternative to other family outings, and will encourage families to engage in creative activity together, developing a love of the arts from a young age,” said Yvette Hardie, South African ASSITEJ director and the current president of ASSITEJ International.
“We want families to grow closer together through the exhilarating and unforgettable experiences that they share in the theatre,” Hardie said.
The venue will provide not only high quality entertainment inside the theatre, but also interactive artistic experiences, art exhibitions, workshops for families to engage in together and food to be enjoyed on its delightfully situated front verandah.
The venue, Oatlands Preparatory School, is conveniently situated on African street, with additional access from Luke Street, and is just up Douglas Lane from the Fiddler’s Hub.
INFO BOX…
ASSITEJ South Africa is a registered NPO (066-875), bringing together all those working in theatre for children and young people in South Africa.
It is the registered national centre of ASSITEJ (the international association of theatre for children and young people, which works in 85 countries across the world) and is a member of ACYTA (African Children and Youth Arena), which is the African region’s ASSITEJ network, present in 17 countries.
ASSITEJ SA aims to promote access to high quality theatre for all children and young people, to raise standards within the industry, to be an advocate for the right of every child to arts education in schools, and to build relationships within the sector locally, nationally, across the continent and globally in order to enrich the lives of children and young people.
ASSITEJ South Africa is generously supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.
For more information on the tour, contact ASSITEJ SA marketing and fundraising manager Themba Mzondi on (021) 822 0070/1/2 or email fundmarket@assitej.org.za.
