The National Arts Festival is an opportunity for people from all over Africa and even those from around the world to gather in this very small town and tell stories of where they’re from and use various forms of art.
The National Arts Festival is an opportunity for people from all over Africa and even those from around the world to gather in this very small town and tell stories of where they’re from and use various forms of art.
Grahamstown residents have also used this platform to not only give us work indigenous to Grahamstown, but to tell the story of Grahamstown. One such show is a drama piece by The Backyard Artists of Ikhaya. My Grahamstown, written by Steader Nkwinti, offers through music and drama a general overview of Grahamstown including the historical battles of Makhanda against the British settlers.
One feature that visitors to Grahamstown cannot ignore is the city’s large number of street. My life on the streets of Grahamstown, which is presented by the Mayitshe Theatre group, explores and uses comedy to
illustrate the harsh reality of life on the streets. All the cast members are children between the ages of eight and 17. According to their director, Bongani Diko, these children have been in conflict with the law.
However, with the help of the Department of Social Development, they were gathered to put together the gaudy performance. “They wrote it, directed it and perform in it themselves. I just stole the credits.” jokes
Diko.
Diko adds that the reason why they allow the children to produce the story themselves is because he is a strong believer of the idiom, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Although the programme promises the production to be a musical, there is no music in the play at all. Yet they still provide an entertaining piece that kept the audience in stitches. If you have an hour-and-a-half open in your hectic Festival schedule, you could also go on an enlightening tour around Grahamstown. One of these is Saints, Sinners and Students. Other tours are Stately Homes and Old School Ties and Settler Skeletons and Colourful
Characters.
My Grahamstown is at the Bots Marque today at 4pm; My life on the Streets of Grahamstown is at Commemoration Church today at 4pm ; Saints, Sinners and Students tour starts at the Albany Natural Science Museum tomorrow at 10am ; Stately Homes and Old School Ties starts at the Cock House on Saturday at 10am.
