Drama for Life collaborates with the Nelson Mandela Foundation on SA Season
August 13, 2010 – The inaugural SA Season, hosted by the Drama for Life and the Dramatic Arts Division of the Wits School of the Arts, comes to an end tomorrow. SA Season is a fortnight-long series of events that shines the spotlight on local South African dramatic, musical and film productions.
The exciting programme kicked off with a dialogue on the role of protest theatre at the Wits Theatre. Acclaimed Chilean-American author, academic and human rights activist Ariel Dorfman joined Nobel Prize-winning author Nadine Gordimer and respected playwright, director and actor John Kani for a discussion on the role played by protest theatre in influencing history.
The dialogue, which was hosted in conjunction with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, formed part of the broader Eighth Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture series. The Annual Lecture programme aims to get South Africans engaging with one another on critical social issues.
The conversation set the tone for the season which focused on exploring the role of memory and past theatre practices on South African theatre.
Head of the Division of Dramatic Arts, Warren Nebe, said: “This season of work speaks to the necessity of honouring the theatre legacy in South Africa. The plays selected show the impact that apartheid had on all human relationships irrespective of race or creed and highlight some of the traumatic effects of this system that are still felt today.”
Some of South Africa’s most acclaimed plays have been performed as part of SA Season including Woza Albert by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema and Barney Simon, Diep Grond by Reza de Wet, The Mother of all Eating by Zakes Mda to Athol Fugard’s Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act.
Nebe continued: “Staging these works in 2010 is not just about looking back but is more importantly about acknowledging their relevance today and about how memory has been constructed in this country.”
The next item on the Drama for Life calendar is the 2010 “Sex Actually” festival. This week-long series of events will get people talking about sex and the many controversial and taboo issues associated with it.
To find out more about the programme visit the Festival page.