July 17, 2007
By Tabisa Mntengwana
LOCAL theatregoers will get a chance to experience the buzz of the National Arts Festival – straight from Grahamstown, eight of the festival's top shows will be hit the Joburg stage.
The annual 969 Festival is back in town, from 25 to 29 July, with a host of fascinating plays.
Now in its fourth year, the festival – named after the 969km trip from Grahamstown to Johannesburg – is on at the Wits Theatre complex in Braamfontein.
"This year we are expecting the shows to thrill and excite the audience," says Cathy Pisanti, publicist for the Wits Performing Arts, "– even though we don't have sponsors."
The mix includes music by guitar maestro Tony Cox and the Sankofa Wits Marimba Band, as well as a magical production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and a satirical comedy loosely based on the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup™.
At the Wits Main Theatre
Cox's show
I got blisters on my fingers! is on twice, on Thursday 26 July and Friday 27 July at 8pm.
He will be performing some of his well-known pieces, including You Asked For It, Your Name on a Grain of Rice, Anthole, Awakening, Dollar's F and Found.
This is followed by Brother Number. Written and performed by Rob van Vuuren and James Cairns, Brother Number is on for two performances, on 28 and 29 July at 8pm.
A biting comedy, Brother Number depicts the lives of two brothers Harvey and Stan who spend their days altering and mixing ID documents in a little room in an ordinary Home Affairs building.
At the Wits Downstairs Theatre
Waiting for Thandiwe, on for two performances on 25 and 26 July at 7.30pm, is presented by Kwajuliwe Productions and features Lulama Masimini. It is a slice of a young student's life as he ponders and reminisces while waiting for his girlfriend.
Also on at the Downstairs Theatre is a strange love-story out of the Kalahari, Willy's Ark.
Written and directed by Jenine Collocott, the play, on 27 and 28 July at 8pm, is based on a true story about an eccentric man who harbours a love for the country of Germany and for a Batswana called Sophie. The play features James Borthwick and Yule Mabhana.
At the Wits Amphitheatre
Echoes of Remembrance, on at the Wits Amphitheatre, tells the story of music. This one-hour show is on from 25 to 27 July at 5.30pm.
Also at the Amphitheatre is Bafana Republic, based on the much anticipated 2010 Soccer World Cup. The satire is written by Mike van Graan, and features Van Graan, Zapiro, Lara Bye, Jaco Bouwer and Lindiwe Matshikiza.
Bafana Republic runs from 25 to 29 July at 8pm and at 2pm on Saturday 28 July.
At The Nunnery
Sis Doll's, a drama about a family in an unforgiving city, runs from 25 to 28 July at 7.30pm. Directed by Ntsako Mkhabela, the characters that seek solace in Sis Doll's shebeen have come to the big city in search of a better life. And what they find is that the city of gold is an illusion.
At the Gavin Relly Green
On the west campus is a production of
A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare's much-loved comedy explores the themes of love, duty, illusion and reality.
It's midsummer in Joburg: Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream is part of the 969 Festival
The production is on at 2pm on 28 and 29 July.
Tickets for the various shows are available at Computicket, and prices range from R20 to R80 per person.
For more information contact the Wits Performing Arts department on 011 717 1376.
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