Bridling, Theatre Venue: Rhodes Box Next performance: Friday 4 July 18:00 Review By Keith Bain, guest writer Silence and inaction are the torments at the heart of Bridling. The terror of it struck me instantly. Only for a moment, but as the stage lights came up and we witnessed actor Buhle Ngaba on a chair placed on top of a table, facing the audience, her face trapped inside that mask-like contraption, the sense of physical and psychological torment was all too real. The bridle – here an instrument of torture – is something akin to that terrible mask used to…
Author: Gillian Rennie
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ASSITEJ South Africa Interview By Ndalo Mbombo “Growing up and growing together through theatre.” This is the motivation behind the imaginative work from ASSITEJ, a network of artists, educators, organisations and institutions who have come back to the National Arts Festival with a bounty of theatre for young audiences. Launched at NAF in 2007, ASSITEJ is a global network of artists eager to tell stories to children and young audiences. Executive director Yvette Hardie said that audiences had been enthralled during performances from the 19 shows under the ASSITEJ banner. “It is quiet, but also there have been lovely engaged…
Sphelelo Mazibuko: FACES, Jazz Interview By Amahle Shosha There is a calm authority to Sphelelo Mazibuko as he talks about the long, winding road that has led him to this moment presenting his own music under his own name, on his own label, with a new project called Faces. “It has been strategic,” he said. “It has been a long walk, but very humbling.” It is a choice he has not rushed. For years, Mazibuko has been in the background in other people’s shows — a first-choice drummer for Dorothy Masuka, Sibongile Khumalo and Kyle Shepherd — and sharpening the…
Kompoun, Theatre Venue: Great Hall Next performance: Sunday 29 June 19:00 Review By Keith Bain, guest writer Kompoun, deftly directed by Lee-Ann van Rooi, is hard-hitting, rough, raw and gritty in the best sense of the word. And it’s emotionally shattering. It is a weighty show, adapted for the stage from Ronelda Kamfer’s novel which is something of a literary powerhouse, relentless and cutting. It examines various forms of trauma – family, childhood, generational – in an explicitly and distinctly South African context, conveyed through the observations, experiences and memories of cousins Nadia and Xavier (Xavie) McKinney. The show, despite…
The Fugue of Tjebolang, Theatre Venue: Great Hall Next performance: Saturday 28 June 10:00 Review By Guest Writer Keith Bain Rehane Abrahams’ extensive career as a creator of new work has tended to focus on theatre that is ritualistic and decolonial in nature; there is inevitably an element of transformation, a desire to shift and heal. She does not make work purely for the sake of entertainment, but is instead intentionally searching for new ways of telling stories, and of creating theatre that lands differently. While it’s no simple thing to pin her down, what’s clear from talking to her…
LETTER TO MAKHANDA By Nicci Hayes Powerless? I came home yesterday afternoon, having jangled my way through the tar graveyard that is Knight Street to a pile of rubbish (not mine) on our pavement. Just as I was settling down to do some work, the lights went out and I felt… well, powerless. I thought about Festival-goers, and artists, and craftspeople, and cooks who bring so much vibrancy, and money, and deliciousness – not to mention so many jobs – to our town. I thought about how they must feel encountering the sadder parts of Makhanda, and I wished that…
By Gillian Rennie It was July 1993 when Sue Clarence, who died last month, cooked up the first Hilton Arts Festival (HAF) while she waited in line for a late-night meal at the mother of all South African festivals. She was in Makhanda (then Grahamstown) with arts ally Geoff Thompson at the National Arts Festival and their collective hallucination was born into reality just six weeks later with a handful of productions and a roll of old-fashioned bus tickets to sell them. In the 30+ years since then, thanks to Clarence’s driving commitment, the Hilton Arts Festival matured into what…
Makhanda at NAF: Aviwe Dyantyi Preview: The Weight of Silence By Mohale Manyama A homecoming play, The Weight of Silence promises an emotional solo performance by Aviwe Dyantyi, a two-time Rhodes University graduate with experience in both local and national productions. Set entirely within a stark interrogation room, The Weight of Silence takes you inside the mind of a fallen leader who is struggling with the aftermath of his actions, addiction, corruption, and abuse of power. Through monologues and imagined conversations, the play draws audiences into his inner world, where denial gives way to guilt and silence screams louder than…
By Tokologo Lekoma Jon Campbell and his family have lived in Makhanda for over 28 years. During that time, they’ve invested in retail franchises such as Spar and Pick n Pay before expanding their footprint in local business by buying a small petrol station in Beaufort Street. They developed it into a Caltex and, more recently, have rebranded as Astron Energy-– launching today with its expanded new look. Campbell explains that his determination to invest came from a desire to serve the community beyond the traditional retail route. He notes that their investment was about creating economic growth and contributing…
By Malebo Pheme and Relebohile Mohapi In the township’s centre, where dusty clouds rise like incense and the sun baptises the earth in gold, Ntikana Ramohlale is not just snapping shots – he’s collecting soul, spirit, and story. The photographer is from Moletjie Ga-Matamanyane, Limpopo, and currently based in Makhanda while studying at Rhodes University. Since 2018. Ramohlale has evolved from a casual memory-maker into a compelling documentary, lifestyle, and street photographer with a growing following on Instagram. “When I started photography, it was merely a form of storytelling and memory-making,” he said. But what began in 2018 as capturing…