It’s Valentines day, the staff are all too ready to check out, the chef runs the kitchen like an out of service U boat and the stock is disappearing like textbooks in Limpopo. With his wife on his case like Gordon Ramsey on a dirty kitchen, Bronwyn, the restaurant owner is on the verge of hanging up the closed sign for good. And then things get strange…
Skilfully crafted by Jaques de Silva, Ryan Dittmann creates the world of a restaurant and kitchen while seamlessly transforming from character to character to unveil this wacky story.
Prodigal is an entertaining, moving, absorbing one-man play telling a universally accessible story of loss, love and guilt. It is marked by a powerhouse performance from Tim Redpath, incorporating elements of mime and physical comedy. Written by Lorraine Knox and directed by Dani Marais.
Luke is a poor farmer’s son who rejects family and home in a gamble for quick cash and prestige in the seedy underbelly of Jo’burg. In this coming of age tale Tim Redpath’s split-second character changes take us on a rollercoaster ride of rebellion, pride and sacrifice.
Prodigal played an extended run to packed houses and standing ovations at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in July 2006 and 2007. In 2009 Prodigal had successful runs in Oxford and London and at the Edinburgh Festival where Tim won the Sweet Venue Best Actor Award for his performance. In March 2010 Prodigal returned to Oxford for a run at the Oxfringe Festival.
A deftly plotted modern classic, Prodigal follows the tale of a young Eastern Cape farm boy as he decides to leave home and seek his fortune in the fast-paced city of Jo’burg, South Africa. Snappy dialogue, split-second character changes, strong physical acting and innovative directing enables one man to bring a fantastic cast of characters to life. From a story-telling Xhosa woman to a morally dubious Middle-Eastern restaurant owner to an opinionated professor to a shady gangster, Redpath’s vocal and physical dexterity takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of pride, prejudice and sacrifice.
The Pollution Revolution is an original edutainment play that formed part of Well Worn’s pioneering Climate Change Action Programme, funded by the NLDTF and in partnership with Earthlife Africa JHB’s Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Project.
The play toured to 150 primary schools in Gauteng in 2010/2011 and performed to audiences of over 30 000 school learners and teachers. The play was also performed at the Family Festival of both the National Arts Festival and the Out of the Box Festival in 2011.
The 45 minute high energy, physical theatre play aligned to the Grade 4-9 Social Science, Life Orientation and Physical Science curriculums and covered themes of climate change, global warming, energy, water, waste, biodiversity and personal/social/ecological responsibility. Each school performance was accompanied by a ‘Climate Action Toolkit’: a learning resource researched, designed and compiled by the Well Worn Theatre Team. The resource included activities and learning materials to support teachers in carrying the learning over from Stage to Classroom.
The Pollution Revolution was written and directed by Kyla Davis and co-devised and performed by Craig Morris, Jaques De Silva, Joni Barnard, Jerry Mntonga, Taryn Bennett and Lerato Moloi.
American Fullbright scholar Amy Biehl is killed in the Gugulethu township of Cape Town: it’s a senseless murder, carried out by four youths. The mother of one of them tries to make sense of it all by recounting events in an imaginary conversation with Amy’s mother. It’s a real ‘heart to heart’ communication of personal testimony in an imaginary response to this real event, showing how one unforgiving moment in an ordinary day had repercussions beyond the imaginable. Mother to Mother tells a powerfully moving story of forgiveness, reconciliation and understanding across cultures and continents.
Performer: Thembi Mtshali-Jones
Workshops: There will be a talk-back with learners after the show for 20-30 minutes.
Be grateful for what you have today for tomorrow it may be gone
The Magic Bird is the story of the legendary Magic Bird – an elemental being that protects and supports the balance of nature in the forests of Africa. Her path crosses that of a married couple Mandisa and Wanjohi.
Mandisa is a demanding, critical and suspicious young woman, whilst her husband, Wanjohi, is a capable, brave, honest, yet compulsive dreamer. They are struggling to survive in the midst of a crippling African drought – their water well has dried up and all their plants refuse to grow.
Wanjohi unwittingly captures the Magic Bird in one of his traps. He is delighted to find that he has caught some food and is about to slaughter the bird when, to his absolute amazement, she pleads with him to spare her life. Wanjohi is so struck by her beauty and wise words that in his heart, he does not have the courage to kill her.
Upon setting the Magic Bird free, she gives him two of her feathers and suggests that everyday he should wish for his hearts desire and it shall be fulfilled. Her only request is that he never tell a soul about their meeting and the wish that she has bestowed upon him. Wanjohi assures the bird that he will hold true to this promise and makes a wish; that he and his wife will have a feast of food and drink on his returning home.
Wanjohi cannot wait to get home and when he enters their hut he is delighted to find his wife dancing and singing around a table filled with delicious treats. For the following week the couple find that their cupboards are never empty and their dry water well now gurgles with crystal, clear, sparkling, fresh water. Life is good!
The curious and controlling Mandisa cannot stop nagging her husband Wanjohi to tell her truth behind their good fortune. When he holds true to his promise and tells her to be grateful for what they have, she only becomes more dissatisfied and plots to discover the truth.
All her plotting and planning finally succeeds and as Wanjohi blurts out the truth all their good fortune disappears. Too late, Mandisa realizes the mistake she has made and promises to change her ways. Once again Wanjohi lays his traps and starts hunting in the forest for food. As luck would have it, he captures the Magic Bird once again but in this instance Wanjohi not only sets her free but also saves her from the ravenously hungry dog that has accompanied him on his hunting expedition. The Magic Bird blesses him for his bravery and kindness with two more feathers and returns to her magical work. Mandisa and Wanjohi live the rest of their lives in comfort, ever grateful for the Magic Bird’s lessons.
Despite being predominantly French-speaking, Cameroonian audiences were charmed and entertained by the new South African children’s musical Snake Magic when it was staged in Yaounde recently as part of an international arts festival.
“It is a work that is able to transcend language through its use of puppetry and music and seems to enjoy a universal appeal,” says its creator, well-known Cape musician Heather Mac.
Adapted from an African legend, the play was selected for staging at the African Festival of Children’s Theatre in Cameroon last month. “As only 20% of the population speaks English, we were concerned that some of the children may not understand the narrative. I was delighted to be proven wrong,” she laughs.
Mac relates that Cameroonian children became so emotionally engaged with the story, that during one performance in a scene when one of the characters is frightened, audience members stood up and told her how sorry they were. “Some even gave the cast member fruit and snacks to help her! It brought tears to my eyes that in country where poverty surrounds everybody, such generosity exists.”
Snake Magic features Deon Nebulane, Lindelwa Kisana and David Muller is currently on at the Baxter’s Sanlam Studio at 11am until December 20.
During its first run at the Kalk Bay Theatre earlier this year, critics were extremely complimentary about the way Mac has breathed life into this uniquely African tale. “We’ve basically integrated a vibrant musical score with an adventure-filled story and in the process we’ve created the ideal holiday fare for the whole family,” she says.
Mac and the cast feel the show has grown since its first staging and believe its new incarnation and has been polished in such a way that it gets children in the audience to really engage with its underlying message. “Snake Magic tackles many different current issues that face children today, namely bullying, jealousy, gender conflict, animal rights and conservation,” says Heather.
“We hope that the play is one of the ways we can help nurture respect within children by highlighting the value of their environment, ‘mother earth’ and the importance of being kind, honest and caring within our family and our community.”
Umlambo Wobomi /River Of Life is an African fairy tale about a rural tribe and their special princess Mamlambo, who all live by a beautiful river full of magical creatures. Set in an idyllic rural village where people live and work with nature and whose local river provides for their every need, River Of Life is a story of disconnection in a changing world. With her community in crisis, Mamlambo finds the courage to travel a path alone. She faces a hot dry desert, a teaming jungle and climbs the tallest mountain, all to find the Sangoma, save the river and her village.
Umlambo Wobomi /River Of Life is 40 minutes in duration and is best suited for Grades 4 – 7. An accompanying workshop is also available.
Umlambo Wobomi /River Of Life was the first production workshopped by the Laduma Jungle trainee team from Ocean View, Langa and Khayelitsha. Vincent Meyburgh directed the play with assistance from Nimray Kruger and Mfundo Hashe. It was first performed for the City of Cape Town’s National Water Week programme at Ratanga Junction in March 2011 and went onto two public run at the Masque Theatre in 2011 and 2012. It was part of the ASSITEJ SA Family Venue at the National Arts Festival in 2013, toured the West Coast Community at the start of March 2016 and was performed at the Masque Theatre during Water Week 2016.
A Dog’s Life broaches the specific needs of domestic animals in terms of their day-to-day care through dance and tri-lingual song. The play delivers important messages about the practical aspects of animal welfare.
A Dog’s Life is 45 minutes long and suitable for Grades 1-3. An accompanying drama skills workshop is also available.
As a response to increasing concerns about the plight of urban domestic animals, Jungle Theatre Company developed A Dog’s Life, which was adopted by International Fund for Animal Welfare as part of their Companion Animal Programme. It was rolled out through twinning programme at the Baxter Theatre in 2006 – 2008 and toured communities in Soweto in 2007 and 2008. Recast in 2010 with 6 Laduma Jungle trainees A Dog’s Life was performed in 2010 Mdzananda Animal Clinic, Camp Footprints and other community events. In 2012 and 2013 the show went out on the road to schools and communities, including Paternoster, with IFAW and to Stellenbosch with Department of Agriculture. In 2014 it was rolled out as a twinning programme at the Baxter and another twinnings programme just took place this June 2017 at the Masque Theatre.
A hilarious one man show that gets the audience involved every step of the way. Vinnie is from planet Zok and needs help to get back home. He gets the children to help him to juggle, make music and ride a one wheel bike. Vinnie learns so much about planet Earth, in the end he wants to stay.
Vinnie comes down to earth to share his magic and to learn about different cultures. The show uses innovative puppetry, unique juggling tricks, original music, physical comedy and audience participation to entertain, inspire and enlighten earthlings. Vinnie From Zok encourages people to take part in the show and learn about different levels of communication in a multi-cultural society. Learning about different cultures is fun! It also inspires them to learn the different skills that Vinnie uses in his show including juggling and drumming.
Vinnie From Zok is 45 minutes long and suitable for Grades R-3
The one-man show Vinnie from Zok was created and performed in 2000, thanks to funding from the Consulate General Netherlands. It was performed all over Cape Town metropolitan area and received a great response from audiences in Gugulethu, Khayelitsha and Langa. The play was also taken to audiences in the Netherlands and has most recently been performed at the Muizenberg Community Festival, Synergy School, Soetwater Environmental Education Centre, Planet Kids and Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
Starring:
Vincent Meyburgh
Sometime in the future the earth is one mega city ruled by Robot. The last tree on earth is captured by Robot’s slaves and locked in a tower. The Jungle Spirit is dying. Her last hope is to appear in the dreams of ordinary people.
A story teller uses traditional Xhosa intsomi technique to convey a tale about the importance of trees and urban greening for the wellbeing of all. With nature and wilderness being the source of inspiration for art and music, different cultural styles are made accessible through the disciplines of music; mime; puppetry and storytelling evoking the feeling of freedom and developing the imagination
The audience takes part in creating the event as well as being directly involved in the action of planting a tree – a living memory of the event and the responsibility of its survival handed to the community.
Jungle Jive is 45 minutes in duration and is suitable for Grades 4-9. It is accompanied by a tree planting and a drama workshop is also available.
Jungle Jive was created in 2001 and rolled as a sub-autonomous project with Abalimi Bezekhaya between 2002 and 2003 to over 40 schools and communities. Jungle Jive continued to tour schools in 2005 with continuation funding. The play was revived by the 2007 trainee team and was performed for the Youth Environmental Schools’ Arbor Weeks in 2007 and 2008 and toured extensively in the presidential poverty nodes of Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain in 2008.