Home, Hope and Humour Festival – Mike van Graan has called it, as the festival’s shows collectively speak to our home, South Africa, with its myriad challenges, leaving us to wonder where we may find hope for our future. Humour is one of our primary coping mechanisms.
The three plays –
- He Had it Coming (celebrating women),
- Country Duty (celebrating whistleblowers) and
- The New Abnormal (celebrating freedom of expression) are each performed by a single actor, the legacy of COVID pandemic lockdowns that so adversely impacted the theatre sector.
This mini-festival will give the actors a portable production that they could perform in a theatre, an informal space and even someone’s home and generate income, helping them to recover from their losses during more than two years of the pandemic. See programme and details of each show below.
The short film (24 minutes) of Some Mothers’ Sons came about when an enterprising actor – Luntu Masiza – and a small team converted the rights to produce the play during 2020 into a movie when COVID struck. It has been screened since at multiple festivals around the world and is one of three nominees in the Best Short Film Category of the forthcoming South African Film and Television Awards!
“We are all experiencing some form of economic hardship at this time with rising fuel costs, rising interest rates, rising food prices and theatre is probably an experience that even fewer can afford than before”, writes Mike van Graan. “I get that. But if you are in a position to purchase tickets that would propel these plays towards a longer life – thus generating a longer income for those involved – I would really appreciate that. If you are unable to attend any of the shows and would still like to purchase tickets that could be allocated to people who may not be able to afford it, but who would benefit from the catharsis that theatre provides, please feel free to do so, and let me know which shows you have bought for.”
“Richard Loring – the producer of many outstanding shows including African Footprint – and his wife Jeanette, have offered us a 3-night stay at a luxury apartment in Gordon’s Bay (Sundays to Thursdays, till 22 September) as part of our marketing drive. So! If you purchase a ticket to any of the first six shows (Monday at 16.00 and 18.00, Tuesday at 14.30, 16.00,18.00 or 20.00), you will be entered into a lucky draw to win this stay (you don’t have to attend the shows for which you purchased tickets to be entered into the draw; we will obtain the purchasers’ information from Quicket. The use of this information will comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act).
We are also indebted to a generous investor and to The Crazy Store whose sponsorship has helped to make this festival happen. We will give away a voucher of R250 at a number of shows over the week, but particularly in the first few shows, to be spent at a Crazy Store.”
WHAT: Home, Hope and Humour Festival
WHERE: Avalon Theatre, (Former Fugard Theatre) Homecoming Centre, Caledon Street, District Six, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: 8-13 August 2022
TICKETS: Tickets available at Quicket Plays: R125 Students and people 65 and older R95 Film: R55 Students and people 65 and older: R45
INFO: E art27m@iafrica.com
COUNTRY DUTY
The rainbow nation. A better life for all. The most progressive constitution in the world. These were the promises. The hopes for the country we call home. And yet, Not Yet Uhuru is our lot. Dreams have been stolen. Principles corrupted. Enrichment for a few.But there are some who resist. Who expose the rot. At great cost. To be a whistleblower. A blessing? Or a curse?
Featuring Khutjo Green, Directed by Fiona Ramsay. Length: 65 minutes Age restriction: No under 13
HE HAD IT COMING
Women’s Day. 16 days of activism. Campaigns against GBV.
And yet… He Had it Coming is a collection of sketches, poetry and song thatprovoke, challenge and say it like it is. Drawing a line in the sand. Saying Enough! A time for catharsis.
Featuring Kim Blanche Adonis, Directed by Daniel Mpilo Richards. Length: 65 minutes Age restriction: No under 13
THE NEW ABNORMAL
Humour is one way of surviving our pandemics. Like COVID. Like Corruption. And once the humour has gone? And we are still in darkness, from whence comes our hope? The New
Abnormal is piece of ‘stand-up commentary’ that explores our home, our anxieties, and our hopes with humour.
Featuring Marty Kintu, Directed by Rob van Vuuren. Length: 60 minutes Age restriction: No under 13
SOME MOTHERS’ SONS
South African Film and Television Awards Nominee: Best Short Film Category
Two friends. One Country. Before and After. What do human rights mean in a country wracked by violence? There’s the law. And then there’s justice.
Featuring Luntu Masiza and Francois Immelman. Directed by Mbulelo Grootboom, Cinematography by Alexandre Ortscheit
Length: 24 minutes. Age restriction: No under 14
