{"id":3997,"date":"2020-06-24T02:08:22","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T01:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/?p=3997"},"modified":"2020-06-24T10:22:30","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T09:22:30","slug":"vnaf-the-festivals-in-the-house-grab-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/?p=3997","title":{"rendered":"vNAF: The festival’s in the house – grab it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Critter’s pointers through the plethora of performances at our fingertips from 25 June to 5 July.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhatever\nit is, this virtual festival, it is happening. With quicksilver\ndecision making and commitment, the National Arts Festival team are\npulling it off: the first national arts festival you don\u2019t have to\ntravel to Grahamstown \u2013 correction, Makhanda \u2013 to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s weird, not organising accommodation and a day on the road and someone to feed the cat and looking forward to cresting the bowl that encompasses the little city and descending into the electric energy and hugging all your friends. But weird times are upon us, and they hold a different set of beauties and discoveries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these is that things of value exist outside the limitation of distance and matter, and remain continuous. Such as the willingness to create something and release it into the world, which is what artists across the world have continued to do, adapting their tools as they go. Hundreds of artists are able to do so over the coming 11 days because the collaborators at the National Arts Festival have the same approach. It is one that suffuses theatre, and what gives it its sense of magic, made up of inspiration, manic energy, panic, exhaustion, and elation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three months ago, just as Ramaphosa was closing theatres and gatherings \u2013 a week before the actual lockdown announcement \u2013 NAF decided this year was going to be virtual. And then they made it happen. We could almost see the building blocks as they were moved into place. The process of creating an online festival was invitingly inclusive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CEO Monica Newton, just arrived in Makhanda in January after having taken over from the ebullient Tony Lankester, invited artists to participate in Zoom sessions, ask questions and make suggestions, and hosted information webinars with experienced theatremakers and digital artists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nNow\nit is here. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nQuestion\nis, with scores of shows, films, creations, workshops and webinars on\noffer, how to choose what to watch?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWe\nare not able to answer that, but will try assist a little. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nMostly\nwe look at the artists involved. Many of them we\u2019ve seen present\nwork at festivals past, some of them we\u2019ve never heard of before,\nsome are from overseas. Almost everything involves new creative\nteams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nOne\nof the things going virtual has done is to shift work off the lit\nstage and away from the scaffold seats with the dinky Standard Bank\nemblazoned cushions, and onto our backlit screens. Obviously. Less\nobvious is that the shift in medium of delivery has resulted in new\ncollaborations and different sets of tools. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThis\nhas happened organically as artists have reached out across\ndisciplines that rarely, and generally tentatively, worked together.\nThe outstretched hand of the actor figuring out how to film and edit\nis grasped by the website designer who has been in the wings itching\nto exercise some creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nOne\npresentation at vNAF is even premised on the idea of grouping artists\nwith different skills together to create whatever their imagination\nconjures. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nVirtual\nBlackouts: Experiments in the Future of Form<\/em><\/a>,\ntakes this bold step into virtual theatre and performance by bringing\ntogether five groups of writers, directors, actors, scenographers and\ndigital artists from around the country to produce works. The list of\ncollaborators is long, but take it from us they are among the most\nexciting artists in this country. Do not miss the once-off\npresentation of their creations on Wednesday 1 July<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut\nlet\u2019s skip back to the beginning for things that have caught our\neye, bearing in mind we\u2019re only talking about the Main programme\nhere. The curtain has yet to part on what the Fringe holds (yes, the\nspeed of adaptation under unique circumstanes means virtual fest is\ndown to the wire) so we\u2019ll have to deal with that later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nDay\n1 is simply ridiculous. Everything looks delicious, each promises a\nunique view on the world. There\u2019s\nNixon in Agony<\/em>,\na radio drama imagining a drunk and angry American President, Richard\nNixon, in his office the night before his impeachment hearing. Nixon\nis played by the incredible Steven Berkhoff. You have to listen to\nthis with your headphones on as it uses spatially\nrecorded sound<\/a>\nand stereo to create a 360 degree aural experience. Done well, it is\nmind expanding, and we\u2019re pretty certain these guys do it well. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nTalking\n360 there\u2019s Azibuye\n– The Occupation<\/em><\/a>\nin which two homeless black artists take occupation of an abandoned\nmansion in Johannesburg. It features Masello Motana, Evan Abrahamse,\nand Selby Shiba, with director Dylan Valley. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In dance there\u2019s the intriguingTlhago<\/em><\/a> and META| m o r p h<\/a>, <\/em>in which musicians Brydon Bolton and Shane Cooper have participated. We\u2019ll watch anything they\u2019ve worked on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on, swiftly and skipping a host of intriguing selections you should not hesitate to check out, to Day 2, Friday 26 July, but not before we\u2019ve also had a look at Who Do We Come To H(a)unt<\/em><\/a> for a Europeans eye view of the toppling of statues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which might be a good way to move onto Mamela Nyamza, whose monumental work in dance deserves a statue, except it would be insulting to honour her with something that cannot move. She presents Pest Control<\/a><\/em> which is partly billed as a protest against cronyism with the arts itself. Expect no metaphorical holds barred. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Standard Bank Young Artist for jazz, Sisonke Xonti <\/a>is up to will also be revealed on Friday. Again with the Shane Cooper, and Bokani Dyer on piano. Yeeesh! These cats are shit hot. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come Saturday, dig in to some storytelling with isitimela Sendaba \u2013 The Story Train<\/a>. Assitej SA is involved so bring the children. There\u2019s also a couple of digital arts webinars and Human Study #1 from a distance<\/em><\/a> looks fascinating. It involves three robots drawing a human model. Saturday night is reserved for sliding into <\/em>Breathing Space<\/em><\/a>, in which the marvelous Michelle Douglas acts in a film about Olive Schreiner. This year is the centenary of Schreiner\u2019s death, so it will be fitting to raise a glass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is something darkly humorous about watching a horror film on a Sunday, and Lockdown Went Wrong<\/em><\/a> provides the excuse. The poster looks deliciously cheesy but it was a finalist in the Britflicks Lockdown Film Fest so it may well put the fear of god into you. To alleviate that, there\u2019s Buhle Ngaba in Swan Song<\/em><\/a>, directed by Ilana Cilliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s quite a long weekend, we\u2019ll leave it there for now and bring some Critter pics for the week after we\u2019ve slurped from the hot mug of artistic expression ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow thecritter.co.za<\/a> for reviews and tips and buy your day passes and tickets and make your own decisions about the programme on the National Arts Festival website<\/a>. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s to the artists, the technicians, and us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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