TACTICS is a collection of daring short plays written by young South African writers who have worked with The Framework.
Five short plays are performed by performers, they will play different parts, and the plays will be performed in a different order to create a completely new whole. In keeping with the Framework’s ethos, no two performances will be the same.
All the plays are multiply cast, allowing the actors to play different roles each time. Both actors and audience formulate relationships and meaning afresh at each showing. To this end, the actors have been Framework-trained, but not rehearsed, so that they have to thrash out their virgin choices before the audience.
The Framework’s team brings this new, totally edgy, intersection between text and performance in a style that demands the following of the performers: Play yourself, play the best part of yourself, don’t ever apologise and play to win.
- It is low cost: there is no set, no costumes, no lighting and no sound equipment. The performances can take place in any simple performance space, without having rehearsed in that space.
- Props are provided by the audience who are asked to bring things to give to the performers. These are supplied to the actor at the moment of necessity at the beginning of the act or scene – whatever they may be: a blow-up dolphin, an Alice-band, a laptop, a sock etc.
- Each actor has prepared two or more roles. Which of the two (or more) he or she will perform on the night is decided by a game of chance five minutes before the show.
- A multi-venue production style that revisits classic and other texts, in which the performance is informed by the venue, audience engagement and the performers themselves. No two shows are alike.
- The productions use adapted text, which is contextualised during performance. This makes it entirely of the moment. Its spontaneity allows each performance to be uniquely relevant for each audience and venue.
Comedy-drama. In a country on the Mediterranean Sea that has seen many decades of war, two brothers live a peaceful, unfettered existence. Then a foreign occupation disrupts their lives in unimaginable ways.
Kaput has played to many school audiences, including the National Schools Festival in Grahamstown 2012, with an over-whelming audience response.
Directed by James Cuningham (Jutro; Black and Blue; Sunday Morning), featuring Helen Iskander (Planet B; The Famished Road; Baobabs Don’t Grow Here), Taryn Bennett (Sie Weiss Alles; Doctor Collinger’s Funeral Services), Dorian Burstein (Pictures of You).
Molalatladi is chosen by his villagers to be the new leader of the village after defeating the Ogres that terrorized and oppressed them for years. He wants to lead his village and create a better life for them but Ogres plant a seed of greed in his head. This leads to his downfall.
Foursight explores a High-school killing a year after the event and is told through the experiences of 4 characters. In attempting to understand how and why it happened the play cracks open the shells of our education system, bullying in schools, the media, the teenage mind and the role of absent the parent, who is willing to take responsibility? The play tackles identity, prejudice, self-image, violence, abuse and tolerance. Few stones are left unturned.
Every year a stork migrates from the lush Dutch landscape to the deep warm South of Africa. He knows lots of stories. One of which is the true story about Nongqawuse, a 15 year old Xhosa girl that radically changed the history of the Xhosa people. One day Nongqawuse comes back from the river. She tells that the ancestors appeared to her with the prophecy that the dead will arise, the white people and unbelievers will be driven into the sea and the once powerful Xhosa people will be as strong as before. To make this happen they have to kill all their cattle and burn all their grain. This prophecy brings hope to the people. They are tormented by colonial wars and mysterious cattle diseases. But it also brings discord among the Xhosa people, manipulation and betrayal and in the end a terrible famine. Everyone points at Nongqawuse. But was she really the cause of the disaster that ensued? Maybe this mystery can never be unravelled. Everyone has his interpretation of the facts. Will a bird with homes in both hemispheres ever be able to understand?
Red Earth is a co-production with Speeltheater Holland and premiered in Grahamstown 2006 and was later performed in the Netherlands more than 200 times. In 2013 Red Earth will be on tour in South Africa.
THE WALKING TALL EDUCATIONAL THEATRE PROJECT – produced by (PAST) The Palaeontological Scientific Trust – a Johannesburg based public benefit organisation that since 1994 has been dedicated to the mission of protecting, preserving and promoting Africa’s ancient cultural and natural heritage.
Our production is a physical theatre production performed country wide and increasingly in the rest of Africa.
Walking Tall inspires learners to recognise, understand and value their African heritage by using physical theatre to ignite an interest in the origin sciences. Using performing arts to teach science is the perfect way to spark curiosity in learners and demonstrate that science is fun.
Walking Tall is an interactive educational theatre project that teaches learners the story of life on earth from its early beginnings to the present day – using physical theatre to cut across language and cultural barriers, and to explore complex subjects like human evolution and the origin sciences.
The Walking Tall project was launched by PAST in 2002 as a way to inform learners about Africa’s rich fossil heritage, and to establish origin sciences as an exciting career choice for young Africans. Africa boasts many of the world’s most important fossil finds of human ancestors and more ancient organisms, yet relatively few African scientists currently work in this specialised field.
Over the past decade, Walking Tall has performed to over 1 million learners around the world and worked with thousands of educators – helping them integrate scientific ideas into everyday classroom teaching and introducing learners to interesting career options in the field of origin sciences. Performances are followed by question-and-answer sessions, and teachers are provided with curriculum-based resources. Walking Tall also offers origin sciences workshops for educators. PAST monitors the educational impact of the Walking Tall project through a stringent learner and educator evaluation process under the management of its Chief Educational and Scientific Strategist.
Walking Tall is co-directed by Greg Melvill-Smith and Craig Morris, and is performed by three physical theatre performers, the current team leader is Buntu Tembani.
In 2011 the Walking Tall project expanded to include ReVerse, a theatre offering aimed at adult audiences. Please see the PAST website for more information on ReVerse.
Take the Walking Tall Journey
Should you wish to find out more about booking Walking Tall or ReVerse please contact:
PAST’s Executive Assistant Ann Smilkstein at ann@nullpastafrica.co.za or +27 11 717 6668 / +27 11 717 6689.
Focusing on whales, this high energy physical theatre show explores the comparisons between whales and humans and lets us in on some of the secrets of these mysterious creatures of the deep.
The wondering whale watchers are on a quest to be like whales as they swirl their audience into an exciting adventure of juggling to catch food, bubbling underwater music and receiving e-whales from a whale called Wonder.
They explore the relationship between whales and people through the ages and look at how these beautiful creatures communicate, what they eat and how they form part of the ecology of the planet.
Through this fun adventure for the whole family the wondering whale watchers discover a new way forward for the relationship between whales and people.
This show was originally created by Jungle Theatre Company in 2001.