A minute inside VaVasati International Womens' Festival

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What is the festival about?

Vavasati (a Xitsonga word meaning women) is a festival that symbolizes the power that overcame the struggle of women in the 1950’s. Her-Story was written when 20 000 South African women, of all races… from all backgrounds united and marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August in 1956, against the pass laws. The South African State created this festival three years ago as a platform that can celebrate female artists or works focusing on female narratives. 

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How long has it been running?

2016, would be the fourth year of the Vavasati International Women Festival 

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What makes the festival different from any other festival?

Vavasati is one of the few Female Only Festival in the world, focusing on women creatives and their works. I jumped on it late this year… and I am literally working on a zero budget. I still believe and see the significance of a platform like this one, that aims to bring more than 1000 female delegates and participants who will be part of our various theatre shows, workshops, exhibitions, and activities; giving audiences a window into what women artists are doing, making, thinking and writing about in the contemporary world.

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What is interesting about the festival?

This year marks 60 years of the strong threat of feminine unity that inspired so many young women to hold the knife at its sharpness and collectively embrace the significance of not being silenced creatively. And it is also the first time the festival is being curated by a female director since its conception. Which I feel makes the layout and artistic plan completely different and more feminine.

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Who is the curator of the festival?

(LOL!) Napo Masheane. (Let me refer to me in the third person for a change). 

Napo Masheane was a founding member of the Feela Sistah Spoken Word Collective and with its demise, she went on to become one of the nation’s leading black women theatre-makers. With her roots sunk deep in spoken word and theatre, she moved to mainstream stages when she wrote, directed and produced plays such as, My Bum Is Genetic Deal With It, Fat Black Women Sing, Street Light With Lips, A New Song & presently Mama The Storm IS Outside. She further organized women artists between USA and SA in a project called Colours of the Diaspora. In between internships, directing shows on cruise ships and study opportunities she also completed two poetry collections, Caves Speak in Metaphors and Fat Songs for my Girlfriends. Napo won the first Mbokodo Award for Women in Theatre Category and Pan-African Language award and SAFTA’s for Umlilo. She has just completed her Master Degree in Creative Writing from Rhodes University.  Picked up on the international circuit, one of her monologues was chosen to be performed by leading actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave).  She just became the first black women to stage and direct a play 'A New Song' mentored by Royal Court London, at the Market Theatre. 

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Do you have a website?

Our website is being updated so it’s down… but people can get hold of me on:

Twitter @popomasheane

Instagram @popomasheane

FB: Napo Masheane

And for more info on Vavasati International Women Festival:

Twitter: @VillPro

Instagram: @vill_pro

FB: Village Gossip Productions

Twitter: @sastatetheatre

FB: State Theatre

Website: www.statetheatre.co.za 

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What procedure do you follow in selecting a production?

I sent out a call out within my art and theatre community… and based on submissions, I looked at what was “Relevant, Reflective, Engaging, Provocative, Different, Outstanding and Contemporary”

A minute with Festival Internacional Teatro de Inverno.

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What is the festival about?

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FITI -Festival Internacional Teatro de Inverno(An international Theatre festival of the winter) is an international event that involves national and international companies with the objective of providing the platform for international Exchange and divulge the artistic products of theatre groups. The festival is also concerned about opportunities for training and workshops about direction, dramaturgy, choreography, and associative. The festival production and funding are also the matter of this festival. In order to include more audience, we have parallel realisations of music, visual arts and another form of artistic manifestation.

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How long has it been running?

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FITI -  has been realised since 2004. Firstly was the only amateur festival for Maputo city and progressively went to regional and now in an international.

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How did you select a South African play? 

FITI:

Mahamba company, led by Dado and Maria was invited to Musho Festival in January. Dadivo has been our partner in this festival and we asked him to see the possibilities of bringing south African company for this festival. Is our aim to extend the possibilities of international participation although our financial difficulties. As we knew from Dadivo, he watched a very good performance during the festival but he decided for one that would encourage our actresses and women director to grow. That is why he selected the one that is 100% percent female production. Of course, the performance itself is very good.

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What is interesting about the festival?

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International exchange, training, and workshops. Also the cultural tourism

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Who is the creator of the festival?

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Associação Cultural Girassol,  Joaquim S. Matavel (Dramaturgy e Endeavor)

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Do you have a website?

FITI: www.girassolmoz. or ghttps://www.facebook.com/FITI.TeatrodeInverno

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What procedure do you follow in selecting a production?

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We have the editor which sends out a call for artist's that want take their productions for the festival. They can fill the form, send the pictures and the short video or casting. 

Review of A Voice I cannot Silence.

Review by Philisiwe Twijnstra

The playhouse Theatre on their New Stages programme presents The Voice I Cannot Silence. Written by Ralph Newman and Greg Homann and direction by Greg Homann.

This recent multi-awarded play examines Alan Paton's life, the play denounces the injustices experienced by Alan Paton, the inequality, against humankind and the struggle to not suppress his voice.

Centre stage, level higher from the ground, a circle stage creates an office, with a table, chairs books lots of books and boxes,with a brilliant golden, aureate lighting, beautifully set up to emphasise the closeness of the story. Light indicated the change of days, moods, and style of acting.The set creates an illusion of a window to Alan Paton's soul.

In fact, I like the set because it told me more about the characters and the year it was set conversely, it appeared to be restricting to the actors' freedom and the use of space, maybe it was intentional since Alan Paton felt like a prisoner in his own home, having said that: the exits, the entrances, the fading out and the fading in became a bit redundant style maybe that was the director's intention as well.

Personal in my own two cent view, In the writing; I miss the focal point, for example, what is happening between Sponono and Alan? what is the relationship? what is the conflict? why is the boy so upset at the end? I got lost. The structure is not clear. You don't know who is telling the story, who's story is it? Is it Anne or Alan or Sponono who's eyes are we, as the audience seeing Alan's story Why is this story being told now, for who? would the play have worked with just Anne and Alan? (I apologize for the questions)

The cast is made out of Ralph Lawson as Alan Paton, Menzi Mkhwane as Sponono and a special mention to Clare Mortimer  as Anne she was a light in a dark hole, what a delight to watch her deliver so truthfully and narratively well done.

However A voice I cannot silence is still playing at the playhouse. Don't take my word for it, go watch it and see for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
12-20 May 2016 Loft Theatre Playhouse

Claire Mortimer as Anne

Philisiwe Twijnstra's Second production to be staged in 'Festival Teatro De Inverno'

Image: Cheeky Lens

Festival Teatro De Inverno came at the right time, in a time, where we needed a way to spread the wings of this universal story. 

Matty & Sis is adapted in a South African context. We had a small South African tour, we were able to see the show grow in leaps and sometimes we even shared a tear or two, seeing how the audience connected with 'Matty & Sis. One thing we picked up was that: It does not matter whether you from MOZAMBIQUE,SA, USA or THE NETHERLANDS, the story speaks volumes and any human being can hear. One audience member said I quote "This is my story, how did you know?" I do believe in having a good script, Matty and Sis is a well-crafted piece of writing any young director would be happy to have in their hands, It has so many rooms to create and to translate.  Young emerging directors should fight for good quality scripts, which it's rare to find.

Matty & Sis is a new existing production which in the past months has been characterised by growth and feasibility. Matty & Sis had been selected to play in a major theatre Festival in Durban,Musho Theatre Festival.  Musho Theatre Festival has indeed opened doors for Matty & Sis production, and ignited talks about collaboration, hence we were invited to a Festival Teatro De Inverno; an international theatre festival in Mozambique, which it accommodates plays from Angola, Brazil, USA.

Matty & Sis will play two days in the festival,on the morning of Friday Roel Twijnstra, the project manager will conduct workshops about acting and directing in Eduardo Mondlane University to share knowledge and facilitate skills. With no doubt Matty & Sis might provoke thoughts and questions amongst the audience, after the performances, there will be a planned QnA session to discuss more openly about the play and the process behind.

The reason why I wanted to direct again,it's simple actually after adapting and directing  Sugary Spice for the Women's’ Theatre festival in 2014, I wanted to continue as a young emerging director. I needed to challenge my directing skills, by directing somebody else's script, I needed to identify how to bring the distance closer between someone's script and my skill as a director as well, in fact, that is still a journey I'm enjoying and I'm yet discovering. In a mere sense, I have no idea,where is this all leading to but I have the understanding and the capacity to learn. 

Having said that I realised we need spaces, we need more platforms like Musho,Wushwini Arts Centre,Olive Tree Theatre, Platform especially, in Durban. To allow young theatre-makers to make mistakes and learn from them, to allow us to test and retest our work. 

I strongly hold on to the belief that without censorship of some kind only then will I grow, Only then will I try, Only then will I make mistakes, Only then will we have more playwrights, more female directors than actors who supposedly end up being bubble gum actors.

Ok! I have diverted a bit however the essential point of this blog is I struggled to find a good contemporary and relevant theatre script,which I found in Matty and Sis  from the Dutch writer Theo Fransz.

26-30 May 2016
Festival Teatro De Inverno 
Mozambique.

Image: Cheeky Lens