IT IS A wonderful sight to have young and emergent local artists exhibit and see the hard work put in to the creative process. The initiative and bravery taken by these local artists is a glimpse of the potential Nelson Mandela Bay artists have.
A WOMAN of many talents – actress, director, entertainer, entrepreneur… the list goes on for Taryn Papadopaulos Louch who graced the Little Theatre stage at the Athenaeum during the National Arts Festival in July 2014 as part of the Second with the comedic piece, Meze Mira and Makeup, directed by Reno Spanaudes.
THEMBIKILE Mtshali Jones is no stranger to the stage. Her award winning production, Woman in Waiting of international acclaim, graced the stage at the Athenaeum on July 7 as part of the Second Season of Solo Theatre, hosted in collaboration between the National Arts Festival, Mandela Bay Development Agency, the Athenaeum and Numb City Productions.
The Second Season of Solo Theatre presented performances by artists experienced in creating work that is intimate and powerful and with which South Africans can embrace and celebrate their right to individual expression.
IN THE beginning, a room full of posters seemed like an awkward format for an exhibition – one which might not immediately connect with the observer’s sense of their depth and meaning – at face value that is.
THE Athenaeum, Numb City Productions and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) School of Music, Art and Design presented The Trinity Session’s survey exhibition and public space intervention in Port Elizabeth, Central and Grahamstown during the National Arts Festival last week which featured a segment on the diaspora food experience in suburb of Central.
ZWAI Mgijima is not afraid of complex content. He takes it and makes it cannon fodder for deep and dark societal analysis. Sure, there are light moments – in the unbearable lightness of being kind of way – but mostly his plays focus on the visceral and raw.
The Veil is no different. In it Mgijima peeks behind the pale gossamer that separates African from African, South African from Somalian. He transports us beyond the liminal space that separates customer and shop-keeper as he journeys with Ali (Anele Penny), a Somalian émigré seeking refuge in South Africa.