WORDS: Tracey Saunders
The 2017 edition of the very popular Zabalaza Theatre Festival ended with resounding applause and several accolades at the awards ceremony on Saturday. A programme of fifty six productions featuring two hundred and eighty eight performers, made this the biggest festival to date.
Productions are sourced at mini festivals throughout the Western Cape with a few productions from other regions. It was a winning year for the productions from outside the Western Cape with the coveted prize of a two-week run at the Baxter going to Boy Ntulikazi, a production from Kwethu Productions in Kwa Zulu Natal. Playwright and actor Thobani Nzuza had struggled to fund his travel costs to the festival and his supporters who assisted him, his commitment and perseverance were rewarded. The play was an emotional roller-coaster with several story lines and wasn’t shy to deliver some very vivid and gruesome imagery.
At the heart of the story is a young boy who becomes a man after fleeing from the farm on which he was raised. His paternity and identity are just two issues in the storyline that were revealed in shocking fashion and won’t be divulged here. Human trafficking and the trade in body parts are also woven in to the narrative.
Popular choice
An additional benefit of winning the award at the main festival is the opportunity to be published. Junkets Publisher have published the previous winning scripts and this one will take its rightful place alongside TIP-ex ( Lauren Hannie), Fruit (Paul Noko), The Champion (Khayalethu Anthony), Skierlik (Phillip Dikotla) and Worst of Both Worlds (Bulelani Mabutyana).
Boy Ntulikazi was also nominated in the categories for Best Visiting Production, Best Script, Best Musical Director and Most Outstanding Artist at the Festival. Nsuza’s acceptance of the award was preceded by spontaneous praise singing and he was a popular choice gauging by the ululation and cheering from the audience. The narrative is backgrounded by a soundscape performed on stage by Nhlanhla Zondi and his haunting music carries the text through some of the more disturbing aspects of the story.
Another winner
Another visiting production that was a popular winner was Silent Scars produced by the Calvin Ratladi Foundation. Written and directed by Ratladi the piece was a meditative reflection on masculinity and the roles that men are expected to perform and those that they fail miserably at. With images that were delicately constructed and use of the standard tropes of the mining sector, gumboots, the image of a light at the very bottom of a tin bucket and skilful choreography which wove the images together, this was one of my personal favourites at the festival.
The musicians placed in the audience provided a musical background that was at times eerie and evocative, raging with the violence it mirrored on stage at others. Ratladi deservedly won the Best Director accolade and if you are ever in Tshwane, where the company hails from, and have an opportunity to watch his work, please do so.
Community theatre
As is often the nature of community theatre many of the productions deal with the day to day challenges and trauma faced which are part of many people’s daily encounters with tragedy and violence. The writers, directors and each and every actor are often relating stories from lived experience. This year however there were several productions which addressed broader political themes. No Christmas for Us, one of the two winners of the 2016 ScrIBE Scriptwriting Competition told the seldom heard story of the events that took place in Nyanga in December 1976.
Nokuzola Zoe Bikwana, who was born in Nyanga, brings a particular personal gaze to the history of the violence that erupted between hotel dwellers and residents during the boycott of that tumultuous year. The stellar cast was directed by Zabalaza Artistic Director Thami Mbongo and really should enjoy a full staging to highlight this much neglected area of our history.
But there’s more
Other plays with broader socio-political themes were The Holy Plan B and Good Morning Propaganda. The Holy Plan B earned Nomakrestu Xakathugaga the best actress award. Alongside Thandolwethu Thando Mzembe, who wrote and directed the piece, the wry and satirical look at organised religion and the consumer culture of some Christian churches drew gasps of recognition and much laughter from the audience.
Afsny Punt deviated from the usual linear drama style script to present a more conceptual piece. The set littered with broken dolls and various references to “poppe” made for an engaging and at times unsettling story of a boy locked in a closet with girls as punishment. The metaphor of broken girls speaking from the grave was made more poignant in the week that was marred by the discovery of the body of yet another young girl on the Cape Flats. Team Explosive hail from George and Afsny Punt will be staged on the Uitkampteater platform at the KKNK festival in April. This was one of many plays that highlighted the relevance of theatre that addresses issues with a sense of immediacy and with an ability to voice personal narratives which are often sidelined.
Already back at work
Although the festival is over, and awards are placed in auspicious places until next year, the theatre groups are already back at work. Many are involved in running drama groups in local communities and while the festival is a highlight of the year, it is but one event in their year. Congratulations are in order, not only to the nominees and winners but to each and every person who shared their stories on stage during the festival.
Once again the Zabalaza team of Thami Mbongo (artistic director), Zoleka Helesi (co-ordinator) and Bongile Mantsai (executive director) have created a festival that is one of my highlights on the performing arts calendar. The funders Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, the City of Cape Town, Shoprite and Distell are to be commended be supporting this valuable initiative which true to its name, is growing with vigour.
Details of all the winners are as follows:
ZABALAZA WEEK (main festival)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Olwethu Mdala in After Marikana
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Llewellyn Bond in Afsny Punt
BEST ACTOR
Thobani Nzuza in Boy Ntulikazi
BEST ACTRESS
Nomakrestu Xakathugaga in Holy Plan B
BEST SCRIPT
Nash Lucky Makgobane for Goodmorning Propoganda
BEST DIRECTOR
Calvin Ratladi in Silent Scars
BEST PRODUCTION
Boy Ntulikazi by Kwethu Productions from Durban
INNOVATION AWARD
Samuel Jumat in Afsny Punt
BEST VISITING PRODUCTION
Silent Scars from Pretoria
BEST ENSEMBLE
The team from Emkhathini
BEST MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Silent Scars
BEST CHOREOGRAPHER
Emkhathini
MOST OUTSTANDING ARTIST OF THE FESTIVAL
Mava Silumko in Siyanyanzela
BEST SELLING PRODUCTION
Afsny Punt
ZABALAZA WEEKEND (18 and 19 MARCH):
BEST DIRECTOR
Kamva Obose in Ixhoba
BEST ACTOR
Liwi Buza in Siyanyanzela
BEST PRODUCTION
Misodzi (Tears)
MOST PROMISING ACTOR
Brandon Van Zyl in Katrientjie en die Broers
MOST PROMISING ACTRESS
Karabo Salman in Question Mark
BEST SCRIPT
The Cast of Katrientjie en die broers
Where and when: The winning production Boy Ntulikazi will be staged at the Baxter Theatre from 3 – 13 May.
Website: Zabalaza Festival
WS
