'DAISY': Gideon Lombard 'DAISY': Gideon Lombard
SMELL OF APPLES. At the KKNK Festival from April 8 to 17, 2017. TRACEY SAUNDERS previews
THE synchronicity of the announcement of the KKNK programme for 2017 yesterday must have been a bitter-sweet experience for the Behr family. The announcement of the inclusion of a stage adaptation of the book Die Reuk van Appels coincided with the anniversary of author Mark Behr’s death on November 27, 2016.
The smell of apples of the title, something usually associated with spring and abundance is given a darker meaning in this coming of age novel steeped in the despair of a broken childhood in a damaged country. In an interview with Andrew van der Vlies, Behr described the novel as being “at heart, concerned with how an ordinary boy is loved into bigotry and hypocrisy and how he becomes a privileged supporter of an exploitative and oppressive system– not unlike many of us were.”
The stage adaptation by Nico Scheepers directed by Lara Bye, performed by Gideon Lombard will debut in Oudsthoorn in 2017 and the producers are working on an English version. Bye says, “It is a story of family and betrayal of loyalty and awakening” and is intrigued with the interplay of time.
“The present moment of the story – one brief summer – is the past with flash forwards to the future/present, and filled with generational stories of a very particular version of history and the past. Written in 1993 the story has, I feel, even more urgency now in 2016 as we wrestle with narratives of identity, of land of ownership and belonging.”
Scheepers also wrote and will direct Moedertaal starring Sandra Prinsloo. One of the delights of the KKNK is watching actors with the calibre of Prinsloo perform in more than one production and audiences will be able to see her alongside John Kani in So ry miss Daisy, the Afrikaans adaptation of Driving Miss Daisy, directed by Christiaan Olwagen. She will also be in Pa maak vir my ’n vlieër Pa with Waldemar Schultz and Wilhelm van der Walt.
Other Afrikaans adaptations of English scripts include Reza de Wet’s Breathing in directed by Marthinus Basson. Asem will be performed by the stellar cast of Antoinette Kellermann, Tinarie van Wyk Loots, Stian Bam and Edwin van der Walt.
Neil Coppen’s NewFoundLand, initially developed with The Royal Court in London will debut as Buite Land. The compelling story weaves together the lives and dreams of two South Africans, a choreographer and student at UKSN called to become a Sangoma and an Afrikaans anaesthetist in a community hospital.
The play has been described as an “hallucinatory and unusual exploration of sexuality, love and loneliness in South Africa, and asks the question is forgetting a way of healing or an ultimate form of denial?” It will feature Jacques Bessenger, Elize Cawood and Kopano Maroga
Local theatre maker Jason Jacobs, a recipient of the Theatre Arts Admin Collective Young Director’s Bursary in 2016 was announced as the recipient of the Kunste Onbeperk Nuwe Stem award. Three of his productions, I n wag van, Kalahari Swaan and Stof Rooi will be performed.
One of the innovations at the 2016 festival Uit-Kamp Teater returns featuring two productions from the Netherlands Diep and Wentel. The 20-minute performances in containers were a highlight of last year’s programme and birthed one of the most delightful productions of the year Klara Maas se Hart is gebreek. The production will enjoy a full run next year and the absurdist tale, performed by David Viviers and Wessel Pretorius, of the final tear cried by the heartbroken Klara Maas is not to be missed. Pretorius will also performin his hilarious and poignant Die Ontelbare 48, following successful runs at The Baxter and the Drostdy Theatres earlier this month.
The dark and delicious theme is continued with the unique Kamishibai style of Jemma Kahn. We didn’t Come to Hell for the Croissants makes its Afrikaans debut with a translation by one of the original authors of the Seven Deadly New Stories for Consenting Adults, Tertius Kapp. The production will celebrate its 100th performance at The Alexander Bar on December 7 and given its success here and overseas is bound to delight Afrikaans festival audiences.;
Bookings for the KKNK open today, and the forthcoming holiday season is the perfect opportunity to begin planning a 2017 trip to Oudsthoorn to savour the wealth of talent exploring South African identity. i
l For more programme information: www.kknk.co.za. Boo: www.computicket.co. za