THE ZABALAZA THEATRE FESTIVAL. At The Baxter Theatre , Rondebosch. TRACEY SAUNDERS reviews
THIS past weekend The Baxter felt like the epicentre of theatre in Cape Town as it hosted The Zabalaza Theatre Festival Awards and the 51st Fleur Du Cap Awards.
The Zabalaza Awards event was the culmination of the eight day festival, Zabalaza Intsika eBaxter Theatre, which featured more than 40 performances from 25 areas in the Western Cape and hosted more than 300 artists and theatre-makers. It began with a performance installation directed by Faniswa Yisa.
Renditions of songs from The Winds that Heal (winner of the Best Ensemble Award) led the audience up the stairs in to the theatre where the winners were announced.
There were 64 nominations in 20 categories and awards were presented for both the weekend festival and the main festival. In addition to trophies winners received a copy of the SA Handbook on Arts and Culture. In the six years since its inception the festival has continued to flourish and each year the standard and scope of the work improves. This year saw the addition of music and comedy to the programme. Siya Seya, a young comedian and host of the popular Amasokolari Comedy evenings in Khayelitsha received the award for the overall Most Outstanding Artist at the Festival. His comedy line up drew large audiences and included fellow comedians Kolping Mbumba, Carl Weber, Eureka Nkese, Clynton Dunn, Luu Ignatious, Sakhumzi Memela and Athi Geza. A surprise guest appearance by Philip Dikotla from Gauteng at the Friday performance was one of the highlights of the evening. Another comedic hit was by seasoned performer Thembani Luzipho in his very heartfelt and spectacularly funny From Kulture 2 Town to Clown, which explored the often hilarious consequences of following theatre as a career choice.
Music played an integral role at the festival and was eagerly embraced. Anyone doubting the impact of live performance on young audiences would have been swayed by the soulful renditions by a group of children outside the theatre which replicated the performance they had just watched. I had been in the audience of Addis Ababa(Winner of the Best Musical Director Award) with them and they were enchanted by the multilingual fusion of poetry and music which stressed the unity of Africa.
Listening to their stirring and very accurate performance outside the theatre was as moving an experience as watching the original being performed on stage. Muzo Kraal and Alunamda were also favourites. Alunamda’s choral harmonies created by Light of Life Theatre’s Sonwabo Benny Mphandle from Kraaifontein was the best-selling production.
Children were entranced by Zoleka Helesi’s isiXhosa adaptation of Janice Honeyman’s Bangalory’s Back, Amabali Ethu and I hope that a return season is on the cards. One of the festivals most ardent supporters, Robin Malan was presented with an award acknowledging his support.
In addition to watching and encouraging many of the theatre-makers Malan publishes the winning script through his publishing company, Junkets. The publication of the scripts ensures that the work continues to have a life long after the festival has been packed away and it is particularity valuable for school children studying drama to be able to work with texts which resonate with their personal circumstances.
The impact of the festival and its contribution to the wider theatre community has not gone unnoticed and at Sunday’s Fleur Du Cap Awards the Zabalaza Festival was presented with the Innovation in Theatre Awards. In his commendation Fahiem Stellenboom said “If you want to take the temperature of a nation, read its literature; if you want to measure its heartbeat, watch its theatre. For six years the heartbeat of community theatre has been pulsing at The Baxter theatre. If you weren’t aware of what was on the heart and minds of the majority of the country, a day watching the Zabalaza programme would have put you in touch with what matters.”
The majority of the artist who create work for and perform at the festival are not professional theatre makers and for many this is a dream come true. One of the most moving moments of the awards ceremony was watching Gaireyah Fredericks receive her award for Best Supporting Actress in Ons Komvaandaan. Accepting her award the single mother tearfully acknowledged the contribution of her 15 year-old son who took care of his younger siblings while she pursued her dream.
One of the plays which provided some very engaging audience response was Ubudoda, written and directed by Luntu Masiza. It related the story of a young Xhosa man returning from London with his British fiancée. Although many of the cultural mishaps by the young British visitor drew raucous laughter from the audience there were some very thoughtful discussions after the performance about the issue of male circumcision and other cultural practices. The piece did not provide a neat resolution to the conundrum, but rather opened audience’s minds to different perspectives. The play won awards for Masibulele Tyobeka as Best Supporting Actor and Nicholate Ngongoshe as Best Supporting Actress.
Xenophobic attacks witnessed through the eyes of young children were the topic of Silent Cries, a play written by Bruce Geza and Robert January from the Ubuntu Arts project in Mitchells’ Plain. It won the award for the Best Production of the Zabalaza Weekend and the company will be taking the production to Norway later the year. The Ubuntu Arts Project works primarily with children and does essential work in working with groups from different cultural backgrounds. It also earned awards for the Most Promising Actress for Sisipho Bhefile and Marlon Collop as the Most Promising Actor.
For those who missed the great productions on offer there are two further opportunities to watch some of the winning productions. One will be offered by the National Arts Festival when Addis Ababa, Gelapte Pop, Muzo Kraal and Ubudoda appear at the Cape Town Fringe Festival in September.
TIPex, the winner of the Best Production award will be performed at The Baxter in April. The writer, director and lead actress in the play Lauren Hannie has created a moving story about the reality faced by a young lesbian woman. The script is beautifully written and will be the first Zabalaza script published by a woman. Speaking about her achievement
Thami Mbongo, Zabalaza Artistic Director said “She has a lot to offer the arts and theatre industry and hers is a voice that needs to be heard.”
Previous winners of this award include Skierliek written and performed by Philip Dikotla, The Champion by Khayalethu Anthony and Fruit by Paul Noko. All three productions dealt with hard-hitting social issues from the mass murder at Skierliek to the deadly consequences of human trafficking and domestic violence.
Zabalaza may have begun it’s journey as a community theatre festival, but it is now a community of theatre, of writers, theatre-makers, actors, audience members and musicians. Artists who experience the joy of watching their dreams becoming real on stage, ordinary people who have a desire to share their stories and those of the people around them in a way that speaks to many are at the heart of the showcase.
It is one of the most exciting festivals on the Cape Town entertainment circuit and I am already looking forward to the 2017 edition.
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