{"id":1913,"date":"2017-06-24T14:25:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-24T12:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/?p=1913"},"modified":"2017-06-24T14:25:19","modified_gmt":"2017-06-24T12:25:19","slug":"whats-good-the-critters-guide-to-naf17-fringe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecritter.co.za\/?p=1913","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s good? The Critter\u2019s guide to #NAF17 Fringe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Time waits for no person. In less than a week, good people, we\u2019ll be scurrying from venue to chilly venue, scarf trailing in the breeze, eager to find that magical gem that transports, awakens, stirs or perhaps warms us.<\/p>\n

Yes, the National Arts Festival is upon us.<\/p>\n

Grahamstown, often called the sleepy town although it\u2019s anything but, is facing a couple of worrying troubles \u2013 dams are dangerously low and Eskom threatens to switch it off. But we\u2019re here to allay at least one concern: how to navigate the un-curated, fabulously full-of-life fringe.<\/p>\n

Stage fright sometimes sets in when I\u2019m just chillin\u2019 enjoying a G&T at the Long Table or standing in the box office queue\u2026 and an innocently enthusiastic, (likely) lovely stranger turns to me and says, \u201cnow, what have you seen? Tell me, what\u2019s good?\u201d<\/p>\n

Eeek! Sound informed! Remember names! I look to other rosy-cheeked revellers for an idea, or to the box office poster-lined walls for my cue\u2026 \u201cUm, I\u2019ve heard Rob van Vuuren is really good\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He is. But there are 300+ other productions (including visual art exhibitions) on the fringe besides.<\/p>\n

For your convenience, The Critter has pored over the monstrous 2017 NAF fringe programme, to save you from being put on the spot or making snap judgements about an eager festino-to-be asking for guidance. Don\u2019t simply suggest late-night comedy to the jocks; what about a heartwarming drama? Why not send the tannies in fleece zip-ups to hardcore\u00a0performance art instead of their usual cabaret? As well as the arthouse film fest selection (which is great), perhaps the hipsters might enjoy a light-hearted, flashy, modern dance work?<\/p>\n

So, to the shows:<\/p>\n

Critters Steve Kretzmann, Mike Loewe, and I, have previously vetted some returning productions, or we recommend artists we dig who\u2019re here with something fresh. Have a look-see:<\/p>\n

Agony<\/strong><\/a>
\nFeaturing Craig Morris, directed by Megan Willson. Morris is one of the best in the biz; we\u2019ve loved him alone on stage before here<\/a>\u00a0and here<\/a>. The last time we saw them work together was in the three-part Simply Sapiens, which was \u201cstrange, bold and something to behold.\u201d Read here<\/a>.
\n(Coincidentally, Sylvaine Strike directed one of the three parts, and this year directs Moliere\u2019s Tartuffe, in which Morris plays the title role. Steve thought Tartuffe so nice, he reviewed it twice. Read here<\/a> & here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Burn<\/strong><\/a>
\nLast year Burn won an ovation award. It\u2019s choreographed by previous SBYA award winner Bailey Snyman, so there\u2019s good street cred. Also, I\u2019ve enjoyed young artists Daniel Geddes and Mark Tatham\u2019s previous work, in Ira at NAF 2014 (read here<\/a>) & Naked Knitting & Other Contradictory Acts at the Cape Town Fringe (read here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Dangled<\/strong><\/a>
\nOK, so here\u2019s some Rob van Vuuren for you after all – he\u2019s bladdy good in Dangled, \u2018a dark psychosexual horror comedy\u2019. Steve writes, he \u201charnesses his considerable expressive physicality to infuse the dense text with emotion that reaches out to us\u201d. More here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dear Mr Government, please may I have a meeting with you even though I\u2019m six years old?<\/strong><\/a>
\nWe saw Cherae Halley and loved her in What the Water Gave Me (read here<\/a>) a few years back. Now she\u2019s co-written and performs in Dear Mr Government \u2013 \u2018a tender retelling of what children are saying about their governments\u2019 \u2013 worth a look-see I reckon.<\/p>\n

Down to a Sunless Sea<\/strong><\/a>
\nLexi Meier\u2019s unique worlds are a real trip. And they\u2019ve won awards at fest too. An AHa award for Sipping Lapping Slap (2015) and an ovation award for Fabric of the Universe last year. We got wrapped up in crocheting and nestling in Meier\u2019s intricately hand-stitched, womb-like creation. Steve wrote about here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NIL<\/strong><\/a>
\nGavin Krastin has asked uncomfortable questions a few nafs in a row, and keeps audiences asking questions too \u2013Mike has said Krastin\u2019s stuff \u201croams the outer realm of dystopian freedom of creativity and expression in South Africa\u201d. Check what we\u2019ve had to say before here<\/a>\u00a0and here<\/a>\u00a0and an interview of sorts here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Out of Bounds<\/strong><\/a>
\nAn ovation award winner last year, Out of Bounds is the story of an Indian family\u00a0transitioning from apartheid into democracy. Rajesh Gopie wrote it a few years after the birth of democratic SA \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s sublime to see and feel how such a retro-80s-90s work has made it through to now, and still knocks on your chest, draws in the breath sharply, and blows the mind\u201d, writes Mike. More here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Plastocracy<\/strong><\/a>
\nFrancois Knoetze\u2019s puppets are to be found in Plastocracy, and if his line of work is anything to go by \u2013 read us on Cape Mongo here<\/a> \u2013 they\u2019ll be intriguing and creepy (in a good way). Kyla Davis directs what seems will be a critique on plastic pollution (hint in the title?)\u2026 with a forlorn, unreal creature at the centre of the story. Sounds interesting.<\/p>\n

Rhythm of Makhanda<\/strong><\/a>
\nAyanda Nondlwana\u2019s Via Kasi Movers \u2013 home grown talent from the heart of Grahamstown \u2013 dance the history of the Battle of Grahamstown between the amaXhosa and the British soldiers in 1819. Nondlwana has been seen and enjoyed in previous ovation award winning shows (read Waterline review here<\/a>) and is in The Gruffalo this year too, of which Mike said, \u201cNondlwana stands out as a fine Gruffalo. He brings energy and edge in his fantastically bearish, Michael-Jackson-goes-bossies multi-piece costume\u201d (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Sillage<\/strong><\/a>
\nPenny Youngleson\u2019s \u201csuperbly crafted piece of work\u201d was awarded a Gold ovation award last year. Read Steve\u2019s thoughts and feelings on it here<\/a>. His review says it all.<\/p>\n

Undermined<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and A Man & A Dog<\/a><\/strong>
\nMike says, \u201cThe theatrical techniques are dazzling and Tara Notcutt’s direction is marvellous.\u201d\u00a0So there. Undermined has its final run this year at fest. Catch this \u201chot little nugget\u201d. Review here<\/a>. Performer Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi (who co-wrote the original Undermined script) also wrote and features in A Man & A Dog, believed to be a pretty good one hander \u2013 ovation award and fleur du cap nomination, ok \u2013 although Steve thought it could be better, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whistle Stop<\/strong><\/a>
\nLOVE \u2013 goddamn lovely love and all the niceness and shittyness that accompanies it \u2013 is the theme of Whistle Stop, back for a last run at fest. Read here<\/a> how its premiere wooed us a few years back.<\/p>\n

You Suck and Other Inescapable Truths<\/strong><\/a>
\nU mus\u2019 go check dis show. Fanks. It\u2019s so, like, like waking up an\u2019 u fink it\u2019s Monday but den u like remember it\u2019s Sataday, and dere\u2019s no skool! An akchelly u can mos take time to practis ur dan-sing. Dat\u2019s when u dans and sing atta same time. It\u2019s like, awesum cool.\u00a0See hya whatta cool Critter Steve sayed: click it<\/a> wif de mouse button.<\/p>\n

And just because the fringe is so flippen\u2019 massive, here\u2019s a quick mention of a few premieres on my keen-to-see radar.
\nBattles! – Iimfazwe!<\/a><\/strong>: a storytelling tour by well talented Grahamstown-based artists, about the battles of Grahamstown.
\nBayephi<\/strong><\/a>: a magical realism work directed by Thembela Madliki, who won the 2016 Best Student Production and Most Promising Director at last year\u2019s NAF.
\nIn(s)kin<\/strong><\/a>: explores \u201chow the process of \u2018coming into language\u2019 shapes and situates us within specific cultural and political worlds\u201d, based on the story of a black child in an English private school in late 1980s SA.
\nKubili (2)<\/strong><\/a>: a double bill of dance by choreographer Musa Hlatshwayo \u2013 part one about black female identity and part two about black male identity and masculinity.
\nPink Dollar<\/strong><\/a>: queer in style and queer in content, it’s a queer experiment. With a DJ mixing up Euro rap and African song, and a shaking off of the yoke of patriarchy, this promises to be unusual – what we like on the fringe.
\nYellowman<\/strong><\/a>: Dael Orlandersmith\u2019s story about two African Americans, one light-skinned, one dark-skinned, and the politics and prejudices they navigate daily.<\/p>\n

For the nippers and scallywags, and us kiddles-in-spirit who love zany creativity (yes I believe Family Fare is often the most inventive), check these out:
\nZina & the Songbird<\/strong><\/a>: if you\u2019re all about \u2018local is lekker\u2019 then Grahamstown\u2019s homegrown Ubom! should be your first choice \u2013 also, they\u2019re always good.
\nThe Nose<\/strong><\/a>: get the munchkins into Nikolai Gogol early. They\u2019ll thank you later in life.
\nTaking Flight<\/a><\/strong>: Human beans, take your chidlers down to experience Roald Dahl\u2019s magical worlds.
\nRat Race<\/strong><\/a>: with Roberto Pombo and Ameera Patel, this has gotta be good. Also, Pombo sings a hilarious song about how to relax.
\nSpace Rocks<\/strong><\/a>: directed by the aforementioned Craig Morris. Looks fun, fun, fun.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re needing a good ol\u2019 giggle, check out The Dark Ages<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Tyson Ngubeni is hilarious. Full stop. And Broken English<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 the two comics are individually great, let\u2019s see what Loyiso Madinga and Schalk Bezuidenhout achieve when they team up.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re needing a good ol\u2019 head-bopping session, check out Aminal<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Dave Knowles is an exceptional musician and always puts on a good show. Ikati Esengxoweni<\/strong><\/a> is on the radar too.<\/p>\n

Good people, this is not an exhaustive list. Get a programme (in print or via the app<\/a>), get out your favourite stationery\u00a0and pinotage, and a blankie \u2013 and take some risks for goodness’ sake!<\/p>\n

See you there.<\/p>\n

— Sarah Roberson<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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