Ntswaki’s Adventure is a puppet show with large marionettes standing about almost 1m high. The story plays off in a rural village where the sangoma decides a young boy will be the next in line for her position. He goes on a quest to decide his destiny and help save his village from ecological desaster. The show is full of adventure and humour while conveying the message of earth care and that often the sollutions to the most complex problems are very simple.
Ntswaki’s Adventure
A collaboration between Lashona Arts and Gisele Turner of Happy-go-Lucky Productions and has resulted in an award-winning play ready to tour schools. Set in the Inanda Township, the play, Lucky Strike – which is published as a Grade Seven Set work – focuses on a young boy who is part of a child-headed household. An orphaned puppy wanders into S’fiso’s shack and changes his life. The play addresses various social issues including xenophobia, death of a parent, the vulnerability of young people as well as such positive themes as community support, the joy of owning a pet and feminine empowerment.
Using a life-size marionette for the dog and two mouth puppets the show offers a rich cultural and artistic experience as well as a meaningful message.
Isihumane and Malume is an interactive clown performance using traditional storytelling and physical theatre to explore themes of HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence. Performed in either isiZulu or isiXhosa, Isihumane and Malume pushes the boundaries, taboos, and social norms about HIV/AIDS, gender, and violence against women through humour and laughter.
A long, long time ago there was a family that lived in a small village. They were very happy together in their little home. The father worked in the fields while the mother was busy at home cleaning and cooking. They had two daughters who were very helpful to their mother. The older ones name was Dema and the last born was Demazana….
When 5 clowns arrive in a school ready to tell a traditional South African story, “Dema and Demazane,” things turn upside down. They get lost in the story and discover that STIs, sugar daddies, gender norms and discrimination, and sexual violence are no laughing matter…
But in the face of all these difficult issues that affect us all so personally, how can we not but find humour in our common existence? As the clowns blunder through the story, climbing on top of and through each other, they discover that we all share common fears, misconceptions, and desires around sex and sexuality.
Isihumane and Malume approaches these issues and more through the power of laughter and play. The performance is provocative, insightful, and, as all Clowns Without Borders productions, disarmingly funny!
Isihumane and Malume has been performed in the Eastern Cape in High Schools and Secondary Schools near Hamburg. The production includes an interactive workshop and Teacher’s Pack to further explore issues raised through the performance.
Playtime Antics is a nonverbal clown performance for children of all ages.
In theatre one of the more impactful styles of performance is that of ‘Clowning‘. Clowning enables the performer to stay centred on the audience, being accessible to them so that he in turn can open up to them and their energy. This informs his performance, ensuring true impact.
This style together with a non-verbal presentation also asks both performer and audience member ‘to listen with their eyes’, essentially employing other sensory mechanisms in understanding and comprehending – delivering what has been hailed a truly unique and enriching theatre experience
With this year’s performance, we will be exploring relationships on the playground…relationships which we seem to encounter in adulthood as well and therefore an all to pertinent theme to explore … is it possible to form and maintain meaningful relationships regardless of our differences…can the bully, the shy girl and the smart boy in class be friends?
These Easter Holidays will be filled with fun and laughter as Catalina Theatre brings you Easter Bunnies & The Storyteller from 28th March till the 7th of April 2013.
A fairytale of Two Easter Bunnies who are hungry for Stories of which they believe will make them grow stronger and braver, do dances, songs and magic spells trying to get a Storyteller to relieve them from hunger. Mama Nomusa Xaba (www.nomusaxaba.co.za) an International Storyteller comes to their relief and tells rich and nutricious stories from abroad and interacts with audiences through song, musical instruments, games and poetry.
A 40 minutes magical piece worth enjoying, written and directed by an award winning Director Mpumy Ndlovu and Choreographed by Xolani Dlongolo. Each ticket cost R35 and R55 including Boat Rides. Shows begin at 11am everyday and boatrides at 12pm.
For bookings contact 031 309 6889/ 083 764 3177, www.strictlytickets.com
Look Before You Leap: Being Right deals with democracy, human rights, racism and discrimination.
Focussing in particular on the issues of diversity and inclusivity such as poverty, inequality, race, gender, language, age, and disability, discrimination on the basis of race, religion, culture, gender, sexuality, age, ability and language, as well as the concepts of institutionalised racism, xenophobia, and other forms of “othering”, are addressed.
The story pivots around the election of a school’s Student Representative Council. The Learners are introduced to the candidates standing for election, their motivation for running and each candidate’s aims and objectives outlined in their campaigns’. The Audience become the electorate, participating actively in the democratic processes that support and promote the promotion and advancement of the candidates, while simultaneously being privy to the ‘real’ experience of the identity, concerns and motivations of the characters.
Personal and individual needs are placed in a social context that encourages acceptance of diversity and fosters commitment to the values and principles entrenched in the Constitution. The show deals with social relationships and human rights and responsibilities, including how knowledge and understanding of diversity and inclusivity contributes to the development of responsible citizenship and social justice.
The aim is that audience will become (more) politically literate in terms of knowing, understanding and actively participating in democratic processes, both socially and politically. The importance of volunteerism, social service and involvement in a democratic society are emphasised, and the causes, consequences and prevention of pervasive social ills, such as HIV, and all forms of violence and abuse, are also addressed.
SENIOR PHASE (Grades 8 and 9)
- Topic 1: Development of the self in society
- Topic 2: Health, social and environmental responsibility
- Topic 3: Constitutional rights and responsibilities
FET PHASE (Grade 10 – 12)
- Topic 1: Development of the self in society
- Topic 2: Social and environmental responsibility
- Topic 3: Democracy and human rights
No Monkey Business: Safety First deals with basic safety, responsibility and trust.
Thandi has to go out on an errand. After teaching Mac and Vanda the rules of being alone and about strangers, she leaves. Needless to say the minute she’s gone Clarence Crocodile shows up disguised as a postman with a special surprise delivery for Mac. Fortunately, Mac manages to come to his senses just in time and Clarence’s little plot is foiled. But not for long, the ever persistent Clarence returns with a pizza, and this time he’s not taking no for an answer. But Mac is not that gullible – or is he? Instead, Clarence sells Mac some matches to cook himself supper – with predictable results. Fortunately Thandi comes home before the fire rages out of control.
This show examines the concepts of personal responsibility, personal safety and trust. It looks at the rules that we need to know in order to keep ourselves safe and why we have those rules. While dealing primarily with personal safety, the show also examines how to respond to unfamiliar people and situations, the notion of trust, and promotes looking after oneself and others. The intent is to foster the concepts of personal security and accountability for yourself and others.
The aims of the show are to leave the learner with a clear, sensible understanding of some of the more basic rules of daily life, a grasp of what responsibility and trust mean, and how to keep oneself, and others safe and out of harms way.
FOUNDATION PHASE
Study Area: Personal and Social Well-being
- Social, emotional and environmental health
- Relationships with other people and our environment
- Values and attitudes
- Nutrition
- Diseases (HIV/AIDS)
- Safety
Study Area: Creative Arts
- Develop learners as creative, imaginative individuals
- Provide basic knowledge and skills to participate creatively
About Us: Playing For Keeps follows two school friends whose carefree lives just got complicated. The class joker discovers that his sibling, who he thought was overseas, is actually in hospital with AIDS, and his personal search to try to come to terms with and understand it – bringing his family back together in the process. Meanwhile his pretty classmate is overwhelmed by the attentions of an older boy, who showers her with company, and gifts, and attention – but what does he want in exchange?
Through the course of the action the audience is introduced to HIV and AIDS and Tuberculosis; how they affect the body, as well as the prejudices and misinformation that surround them. They are also led to explore the nature of their own wants, desires and role in society, as well as the role and responsibility of the adults around them and, what is and what is not acceptable. The show stresses the importance of family, and examines how friendships provide support and assistance in difficult times.
INTERMEDIATE PHASE
- Study Area: Personal and Social Well-being (PSW)
- Topic 1: Development of the self
- Topic 2: Health and environmental responsibility
- Topic 3: Social responsibility
SENIOR PHASE:
- Topic 1: Development of the self in society
- Topic 2: Health, social and environmental responsibility
- Topic 3: Constitutional rights and responsibilities
Presented by Here Manje and KB Theatre Productions.
Choreography by Cleo Notcutt and Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Resident photographer and cinematographer: Dex Goodman.
Once upon a time, a boy named Tommy who lived an unadventurous life was presented by a challenge from the new kid at school – join us on an adventure of the imagination and magic. Come see Tommy’s journey to becoming a hero.
The Incredible Journey premiered at Fringe World 2015 in Perth, Western Australia. The show received a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the 2015 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa.
MEMORY is a story for all ages that speaks about the universal impulse of loving animals.
They say that somewhere in Africa the elephants have a secret grave where they go to lie down, unburden their wrinkled gray bodies, and soar away, light spirits at the end.
Robert R. McCammon
MEMORY is a truly African story. It has been created for a purpose to allow the public into why man has hunted/hunts the elephant. Using equal demographics and four part harmonies to original music throughout the show, MEMORY has been well received by all aged audiences especially for the well-known Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s highly detailed animal passion images. It is like going to a real life zoo in the safe space of the theatre.