Bookings are now open for the 2021 National Arts Festival's Makhanda Live curated programme which will be staged in the Festival's home town of Makhanda from 8-18 July. All tickets can be bought on the Festival’s website
It’s been an exceptionally challenging 18 months for the arts but the National Arts Festival is cutting its cloth to fit the times with a smaller hybrid Festival that allows audiences the opportunity to access a full programme of theatre, dance, comedy, visual art, music, jazz and more - according to their own preference; online or live.
In Makhanda, the Festival will be staged live in venues across the city with limited audiences and full COVID-19 protocols in place. The Festival is reinventing its format by crossing over into the hybrid space when the Very Big Comedy Show unites live performances in three cities (Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Makhanda) via a stream which will be presented online too.
The Festival is expecting to attract most of its visitors from the Eastern Cape where there is already a loyal following of day-trippers who come for their annual fix and hopes that passionate art lovers from elsewhere will come too. The Eastern Cape will also be showcasing its talents across the programme from the Dakawa Jazz Festival to the Eastern Cape Dance Ensemble and the Eastern Cape Philharmonic Orchestra who will present the Gala Concert conducted by Richard Cock, with guest musician 2018 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, Guy Buttery. They will also present the ever-popular Children’s Concert.
Also from the Eastern Cape Asanda Mqiki and Dumza Mzwana will be performing live on the Standard Bank Jazz Festival programme; the show will be available on the NAF Online programme too. Festival-goers will also be rewarded with a performance by songbird Sibongile Mngoma as she celebrates jazz and opera.
A much-anticipated show at the Festival is Kamphoer – Die Verhaal van Susan Nell starring Sandra Prinsloo as a survivor of the horror of a British concentration camp during the Anglo-Boer war. Creative documentary project One Take Grace reflects the decade-long collaboration between artist, Lindiwe Matshikiza and actor and community leader, Mothiba Grace Bapela, who met while working as a part-time actor and full-time domestic worker.
Clare Stopford’s Covid Moons tells the story of the disorientation and dislocation of the early days of the Coronavirus and our bewildered attempts to survive a full lockdown. In a noisy world, The Listening Biennial brings together an international group of artists, musicians, and researchers, as well as institutions and collectives across the globe, to foster questions and experiences of listening.
Nashilongweshipwe Mushaandja’s ZILIN is a sonic journey through a borderless Africa using Zilin, a vocal technique from Benin in Africa; a musical style that is used in rituals and practices. Another musical journey, this time through film, is My Culture, My Music a celebration of the unique cultural landscape of South Africa through the expression of music. The large cast includes Simphiwe Dana and 2020 National Arts Festival featured artist, Madosini.
To review the full Makhanda Live programme, visit https://nationalartsfestival.co.za/category/naf2021/makhanda-live/
Tickets can also be purchased directly from the programme page.
