Mambisa 1632

‘Puppet Park’ is a newly written educational & musical production touching sensitive subjects regarding racism, homosexuality, family issues, abuse and bullying etc. Newly written songs will be added to assist with the message from stage. A message of love and acceptance. From the creative pen of Xander Steyn who has a list of productions that he has written, directed and choreographed – www.xanderartproductions.co.za – this is a production is a must see for every school and child in South Africa.

Does anyone have any idea what the impact of the pandemic of HIV and AIDS is having on our children and their family life? How does one approach this sensitive subject? Did you know that a live theatre show like, Tand’ Impilo can open up a safe space to discuss the subject and this forum can save lives?

When an 8 year old girl loses her beloved half brother to a car accident and she is forbidden from attending his burial because of family rivals; that moment changes how the rest of her life unfolds. By sixteen she struggles to relate to her peers and people placed in her path because she is trapped in the past. She begins to communicate with her late brother through letters she writes to him in her diary and through trying to “tap into death”, she writes him stories of how her life has been without him and wonders whether things would be different if he was around. We see her at her happiest when she is in a realm between life and death. The society perceives her as suicidal and a danger to herself but she does not really want to die. In the midst of fighting for her life her biggest wish is that she could somehow run away from life while her brother runs away from death and they could meet each other halfway, to sit at the edge of the world and confide in one another. Everyone has come to a point in their lives where they have questioned whether they would be better off in the spirit realm or if they should fight for just one more day in the physical world – Running is about that very reality.

Andrew Buckland directs the latest exciting offering by physical theatre performer Craig Morris.

Evil is attacking the City of Gold and stalking its citizens indiscriminately. Will the Fris Four, led by Captain Bliksem, be able to save them?

A heroic, physical hour of fun!

This is a tale that shows the cruelty of life, and how if you don’t respect life or don’t have a direction, you will not succeed. It tackles themes like abortion, unprotected sex with multiple partners, peer pressure, irresponsible teenage parenting, school drop outs and the importance of education in life.

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.