Youth Fest: Cradle of Creativity

Cradle of Creativity: The 19^th ASSITEJ World Congress and International Theatre Festival for Children and Young Audiences is a spectacular African festival with some of the most exciting international and local theatre for young audiences set to take to the stage in Cape Town this May. Cradle of Creativity, in partnership with the South African National Arts Council, takes place from 16 to 27 May, and is a once in a life-time opportunity to see brilliant theatre for young audiences at one event which includes a World Congress, Festival and Conference.

The programme includes 64 productions from 85 countries, cultural hubs in Langa, Atlantis, Phillip and Vryground, youth development initiatives, an academic conference, and more, all working to promote long term the need for young people to have access to the arts.

The event offers rich diversity and opportunities for local audiences and artists, and will take place across Cape Town at Artscape, the Baxter and the Cape Town City Hall. Productions on offer at the Festival include works for babies, toddlers, children, tweens and teens.  In addition, Magnet Theatre: Early Years Fringe will offer three days of work dedicated solely to theatre for children aged 0-7 from 24 – 26 May.  Cradle of Creativity will also take place at Cultural Hubs in Atlantis, Gugulethu, Langa and Philippi over the weekend of 20 and 21 May.

Academic conference

The conversation at Cradle of Creativity is made up of an intensive two-day academic conference on 16 -17 May, organised by the International Theatre for Young Audiences Research Network (ITYARN) in association with the University of Cape Town’s Drama Department and University of the Witwatersrand’s Drama for Life. This is followed by a series of focus days from 18–27 May, themed around aspects of theatre for youth such as Theatre and/as Education,  Theatre for Social Change, Theatre for Healing, Theatre for the Early Years and Dance Theatre for Young Audiences.

The Congress of ASSITEJ International will be a four-day meeting of ASSITEJ representatives from nearly 100 different countries. Under the leadership of President Yvette Hardie, the strategy for the next three years will be decided upon by the members of the 52–year-old organisation.

Celebration!

Expect a celebration of intercultural exchange at the Cradle of Creativity with works from around the world right here in the Mother City showcasing almost an entire alphabet of countries:  Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, Denmark to Z:  Zambia and Zimbabwe with a whole lot in between including: Germany, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, and Spain.

What is ASSITEJ?

ASSITEJ (Fr) is the international association of theatre for children and young audiences, founded in Paris in 1965. It’s currently under the leadership of its first African President, Yvette Hardie, director of ASSITEJ SA.

Members include actors, musicians, dancers, directors, choreographers, theatre educators, stage designers and dramatists, as well as theatre companies, organisations and institutions, critics and cultural journalists, cultural officers, amateur drama groups, organizers, societies and other networks.

What: Cradle of Creativity: The 19^th ASSITEJ World Congress and International Theatre Festival for Children and Young Audiences’
When: 16 – 27 May, 2017
Where: Artscape, Baxter, City Hall and other venues
Book: Computicket
Visit: ASSITEJ
Participants/productions: 

 WS