By MZWANDILE MAMAILA Yanna Pelser is one of several female musicians who have defied the gender inequalities within the jazz industry and flourished in this male-dominated space. Having played the viola in string ensembles since the age of five, she has transcended her classical upbringing, moving into the often uncharted territories demanded by jazz. Pelser’s love for music stemmed from her family’s rich musical background. She had the opportunity to share the stage with her father, who plays the piano. Yanna Pelser For the NAF, Pelser says she was privileged to board a 12-hour flight and share a stage at…
Author: Rod Amner
DANCE: SavourReview by JOY HINYIKIWILE A thick ray of light illuminates the stage, and a young girl, wearing a sundress and holding a flower, walks on stage. She is followed by a crew of hard-breathing dancers who form a semi-circle around her. As a man dances on stage, a voice echoes through the room, complaining about the current state of the world. But soon another man enters, his dance accompanied by another voice, one more optimistic. Savour, performed by the Jozi Youth Dance Company, immediately promises to push boundaries and challenge our thinking. The dance production is eclectic, its dancers…
By SIVE FAITH GINYA Ingcambu Blackroots produces a variety of hand-beaded jewellery, warm thrifted coats, and contemporary canvas paintings – all on show Under the Arch at this year’s National Arts Festival. Mfundo Sauli and Mondi Maku are two of the seven men who started the Kariega-based (formerly Uitenhage) NPO to stimulate change in their community by mentoring youth from local schools, including VM Kwinana Secondary School. “Umbono wethu kukuba abantu bagcine amaphupho abo ephila (we encourage the youth to keep their dreams alive)”, said Sauli. Ingcambu Blackroots has previously worked with stakeholders such as the Department of Sports, Arts,…
MUSIC: Undead Generation Review by ELÉJHA-ZÉ GENGAN Undead Generation is a punk fusion band from Gqeberha who, like a band of family members, fuse their inter-generational musical influences from the genres of punk, jazz, and rock. After countless line-up and membership changes, the band has become more of a shape-shifting musical collective, welcoming friends to join their musical family. Comprised of two guitarists, a saxophonist, a drummer, and guest vocalists, the Undead Generation has become known locally for rocking the stages at Champs Bar and Slipstream Sports Bar over the past decade. In addition to their Makhanda-based fame, they have…
MUSIC: BongeziweReview by JENNA KRETZMANN While waiting in the queue with fans itching to watch legendary Eastern Cape musician Bongeziwe Mabandla, I realise this would be something special – a festival highlight, a talk-of-the-town event. The undeniable buzz is bursting through the walls of Guy Butler Theatre. An audience this excited and talkative is yet to be seen at this year’s National Arts Festival (NAF). The lights fade and the first to appear on stage is music producer Tiago Correia-Paulo, most noted for his work in film score compositions. The calm and collected artist instantly grips the audience with the…
ART WALKABOUT: Buhle Siwani’s ‘Iyeza’ walkabout at The Black Power Station Review by SAM VAN HEERDEN In the large upstairs room of Makhanda’s abandoned power station, projected films permeate the space, from its concrete eaves to the floor beneath our feet. Women dance and drum in moving waters, ground down their feet into the earth, and intertwine with the shadows of trees, dancing with the light. Ethereal sounds fill the spaces in between. We take off our shoes and slowly enter the shallow sea on the floor, soft ripples circling out, immersing ourselves in this sanctuary. Buhlebezwe Siwani’s exhibition, Iyeza, is both…
THEATRE: Ward 13Review by CASEY LUDICK The silence is heavy as a woman from the front row hides behind the bleachers to conceal her tears from nosy festinos. She re-emerges just in time to meet Sibongile Ncanekile Nsibande, who delivered a powerful performance tackling the realities of childbirth in South African hospitals and the psychological battles we face daily. Ward 13 is a thought-provoking work written and directed by Koketjo Tesh waga Mashedi, which takes us on a journey through the trials and tribulations of going through labour in an unwelcoming environment. The National Arts Festival program says that the…
JAZZ: Benjamin Jephta: Born-coloured; not born-freeReview by CASEY LUDICK and BABALO DUMA The familiar stretch tent and bar outside the Festival’s premier jazz venue – the DSG hall – are gone, along with the sponsorship from Standard Bank that has sustained the jazz festival for over a decade. Inside, however, there are improvements. NAF technical director Nicci Spalding has put up boards dressed in attractive print with a slight nod to African textile patterns to prevent the music from our top-notch local and global musicians from bouncing off the walls. We no longer have to try to ignore the corporate…
THEATRE: Ismism Review by JENNA KRETZMANN A bench, a washing line, a plastic bag, a white woman, a black man. A hero without a cause, a cause without a hero. On some cardboard reads “STOP!”. There is a pot and some imaginary beans. This is ISMISM… a play where nothing happens, twice. In the age of social media activism, the awakening of ‘woke’, the death sentence of cancellation, and the heralding of false freedoms, writer and director Loti Makoti explores a timely truth: it is so easy to speak but so difficult to say something that matters. The synopsis seems simple.…
A drama from Limpopo tackles the disturbing reality of politicians killing each other for positions. It is a cry from young South Africans for this deplorable situation to change, writes ANNA MAJAVU for New Frame. The Ward Councillor, a drama with the last NAF performance on 2 July, bears witness to the disturbing occurrence of political assassinations. Over five weeks in January and February, four ward councillors – one from the IFP and three from the ANC – were assassinated. In the run-up to the November 2021 local government elections, eight politically connected people were killed. In 2016 and 2017,…