Festival nurtures Eastern Cape talent

Cutting edge and innovative theatre directors who have made their mark on the National Arts Festival’s fringe programme are being engaged as mentors to assist Eastern Cape companies that will be at the Festival this year. Director Tara Louise Notcutt and 2012 Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre, Princess Mhlongo are the first two Creative Consultants who will spend a weeklong ...

International guest stars headline Mainstream Jazz at Fest

The Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown 2013 incorporates a variety of disciplines into their programme. Mainstream is one of the genres that will be highlighted at the festival this year, though it is just one part of the formidable line-up which includes Blues / Funk / World Music, Afro-Jazz, Modern Jazz and Youth. Trombonist Steve Turre of the Juilliard School of Music, New York, has ...

Multiple melodies at National Arts Festival

Multiple types of melody make up the Music programme at the 2013 National Arts Festival, Grahamstown.Hailing from Brakpan on the East Rand, 2013 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, Runette Botha, made her professional début at the Royal Albert Hall, performing in a gala concert alongside José Carreras and Kiri te Kanawa. She has also performed the Erwin Stein arrangement ...

A Day In The Desert

After studying in Florence for three years, Jenine has brought back a German clown who can play a harp. Teaming up with writer, Nick Warren, they share a story of magical realism that takes us from the confines of the inner city to the freedom of outer space and back. 

Big Names and Big Bands for Grahamstown Jazz Fest.

The Standard Bank Jazz Festival, Grahamstown 2013 incorporates a variety of disciplines into their programme. The Standard Bank National Youth Jazz Festivaltakes place alongside a diverse programme that features Mainstream, Blues / Funk / World Music, Afro-Jazz, Modern Jazz and Youth. Mainstream performances are headlined by special guest from the Juilliard School of Music in New York, ...

But is it art?’ at the National Arts Festival

Boundaries of both audiences and performers are extended with the Performance Art offering from the National Arts Festival, Grahamstown.In a performance cycle entitled Anthea Moys vs. The City of Grahamstown, the (first ever) Standard Bank Young Artist for Performance Art, Anthea Moys, will compete against the people of Grahamstown in a tournament of skill, strength, and artistry. Over ...

Diverse dance at the National Arts Festival

Geographical and cultural roots explored in the National Arts Festival Grahamstown’s 2013 Dance offering.Choreographer, teacher and dancer, Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance Fana Tshabalala’s engagement with cleansing ceremonies led him to explore the possibilities in which rites of passage can create new beginnings and purify minds and bodies from the negativities that haunt us. ...

Bravery on the boards at 2013 National Arts Festival

Deepest desires and darkest fears explored in the 2013 National Arts Festival Grahamstown theatre programme. Asinamali marks the debut of the Soweto Theatre as an Associate Producer with the Market Theatre and the National Arts Festival on the Festival’s Main stage. Originally created in March 1985,Asinamali has travelled widely internationally and is one of the most important plays from ...

Thought Provoking Treasures for National Arts Festival, Grahamstown

On the eve of the National Arts Festival’s 40th anniversary, the Festival programme continues to push boundaries, and presents a thought-provoking line-up in Grahamstown, from the 27 June to 7 July 2013.As always, the backbone of the main programme is comprised of the work of the Standard Bank Young Artists.  The first ever Young Artist for Performance Art, Anthea Moys, presents a series ...

Maynardville’s bad tase extravaganza

An elderly man peppering his speech with words such as ‘cool’, ‘ridic’ or ‘obvs’ in order to give the impression he is conversant with the culture of a teenage generation is the image Maynardville’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream conjures up.It is hideous.Lasers to depict Titania’s fairies may seem like a good idea on paper but being subjected to the scattering of green beams ...