Cape Town Fringe is pumping out the shows every night until Saturday, when a full day and evening programme, and a Fringe Fresh Awards Ceremony sends the Festival off.
The remainder of the programme is loaded with top musical acts by some of SA’s most exciting voices and theatre pieces that get to the heart of the issues in our land. It’s the final chance to see some of the Fringe’s hottest productions, and to take the kids to shows for children and teens. The Festival also launches the inaugural Cape Town Buskers’ Festival, at the V&A Waterfront from Thursday 6 – Sunday 9 October.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Divas and Soul
The voices of Asanda Mqiki and Maya Spector collide in a one-off Fringe inspired production on 6 and 7 October. The Acoustic Assassins are performing live from 4 to 8 October, while the sensational voices of Asanda Mqiki, Nombasa and Msaki (all originally from the Eastern Cape, and all recent recipients of the Standard Bank Ovation Award) will fill the City Hall Auditorium for Diva Night – one show only on 8 October.
Family Shows
There will be a free performance of Jungle Theatre’s new play, When Lion Had Wings on the Grand Parade on Saturday 8 October. It’s a highly visual traditional Khoi-khoi tale using masks and daring stilt characterisations. From Reunion comes the play Le Rêve de Lucie (4-8 October), a tale which makes use of wooden puppets in helping children overcome nightmares and the award winning The Fabric of the Universe is a beautiful andimmersive experience for all ages (5-8 October).
Hot Township Theatre to Get To
Take a trip out to experience Theatre in the Backyard at 13 Jungle Walk in Langa for Wait…Linda (3-7 October) a story about a woman who does not want to give birth in a hospital as her beliefs require certain rituals – an almost ceremonial, physical theatre piece. Guga S’Thebe plays host to Woza Albert (6 October), Ubuze Bam (4 and 5 October) and Le Reve de Lucie (5 October) and Holy Contract moves from Khayalitsha’s Makukhanye Arts Room to City Hall 5-8 October and Guga S’Thebe (4 and 6 October).
Everyone’s Talking About
A Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award winner not to be missed is Dangled. Starring Rob van Vuuren in a non-comedic role, it’s acting excellence all the way (4 October and 6-8 October). Coming to the end of their long and highly popular runs are The Emissary (catch them every night till 8 October at the Alexander Bar) and The Finkelsteins are Coming for Dinner (6-8 October at City Hall). Illusionist, Greb Gelb has been drawing in the crowds with his show Blurred Lines. Catch it 4,5,6 and 8 October.
Extraordinary Women
Don’t miss Mamela Nyamza’s De-Apart-Hate (6-8 October); Klara van Wyk’s You Suck and Other Inescapable Truths and the Cape Town debut of Refilwe Nkomo’s Songs for Khwezi (6-8 October); a dance and visual arts piece that questions women’s freedom within South African democracy.
Staying with women’s issues, Best of the Baxter’s Zabalaza Theatre Festival 2016 winner, Tip-Ex, takes a look at the issue of corrective rape in the AFDA Theatre at 228 Lower Main Road, Observatory from 4 to 8 October); and The Price of Meat explores the female body through a series of episodes about women and their relationships with men (4-6 and 8 October). Bendilaph’izolo takes an interesting look at the realities women face as they gain their independence (4 October and 6-8 October) and, in Confessions of a Student, a student tells the story of what she does after NSFAS stops funding her education (5-8 October). Catch Kei-Ella Lowe in Monster, a hipster-horror that explores the emotional and mental fragility of women in their twenties (5-8 October).
Creative and Imaginative Work
Kimberley Buckle’s play Junk takes on a battle for the mind (3-8 October) and Terence Makapan’s Kinders van die Wind (2-8 October) explores the tragic inner turmoil of homeless youths. Cut in Two, a play written by Justin Sieberhagen and directed by Soli Philander tells a complex tale of a family divided by circumstances (5, 7 and 8 October) and Termite! Tall Tales for Big People (4-8 October) blends traditional folk tales and everyday South African life. The actors TQ Zondi and Mpilo Nzimande are also the stars of Woza Albert! (4,5 & 7 October) – a previous Standard Bank Ovation Award winner and a haunting reminder of our past. Butlers and Broadway lets the audience choose the plot (6-8 October) and, the internationally acclaimed play about the precipices of life, death and waiting, Hovering, from 4-8 October, has been specially adapted for South African audiences by director Celia Muxikanthy and performer Raymond Rudolph.
FRINGE FRESH AWARDS
This year the Cape Town Fringe has introduced a new awards programme called the Fringe Fresh Awards. The awards recognize excellence across a variety of categories and are being selected by a panel of experienced critics and industry figures.
Nominations to date include:
Fresh Music – Fishwives
Fresh Performer – Nathan Parkinson in Police Cops
Fresh Performer – David Viviers in The Finkelsteins are Coming to Dinner
Fresh Performer – Stuart Lightbody in Memorable Moments with Stuart Lightbody
Fresh Performer – Liesl Coppin in Glitter Girls
Fresh Performer – Masibulele Tyobeka in Ubudoda
Fresh Creative – Words of War
Fresh Creative – #balletmustfall
Fresh Creative – Koleka Putuma in Woza Sarafina
Fresh Creative – Verplaas
More nominees will be added to the list during the week to come and the overall winners will be announced at the Fringe Club at the Cape Town City Hall on the evening of Saturday, 8 October. The event is open to all and will also form the closing party of the Cape Town Fringe Festival 2016.
Booking for the Cape Town Fringe is open here
Follow Cape Town Fringe on Twitter @CTFringe  Facebook and Instagram @ctfringe – hashtag #CTFringe
PHOTO CREDIT:Â De-Apart-Hate. Photo: Nardus Engelbrecht
