Wits Theatre's 969 Festival

Abantu

A mixture of Artists from within the Wits Community.

Unfathomable is an image based work that wades, drifts, floats through the waters of unprocessed grief. It seeks out the ghostly presences of those gone and those still alive, to understand their liveliness in death, their ghostliness in life. Tracing the histories of her father and grandmother in a poetic play between materials, body and words, Alex Halligey takes audiences on a swim through lives that couldn’t be contained and those that stayed small for fear of the size of their spirit.

Part One

In South Africa, Fingers are used as a signal whether for transport, communal communication or to offend, in the busy setting of the city, fingers work as a signal for something based on time and context.

Part Two

The play is set in two different worlds, a blue world and a brown world. It follows the lives of two university students, Themba, a Black 21 year old male studying Politics and Hope a White 20 year old student studying Drama at the same University.

The Thunderbirds is an all-conquering female trio of comedians that has been touring the country with their off the wall, unhinged, unapologetic brand of girl power comedy. Fasten your seatbelts boys and girls, this show is one helleva of a ride!

What are the images of scientists that we form for children? Can we view children as scientists and complete humans?
Do adult humans give a fair chance to children to perform to their fullest potential?

Through the FINGO Festival the Wits Stash collaboration has taken to the Makhanda streets a body of work which engages directly with the audiences by disrupting the conventional space of art, through amplifying the stereotypes of Black art in the academy. As an ode to bridging the gap between the academy and the community it addresses a discourse that is true to their identity, bringing to the foreground a culture of public art which involves creating work (theatre, music, fine art) and other non-conventional spaces of performance for public indulgence and transcendence.

The play is a series of skits surrounding various news stories that graced the headlines over the last five years-including the Oscar Pistorius love story, the Vicki Momberg first time offence and the #FEESMUSTFALL soapie. Joel Leonard believes that the world needs his solo version of Hamlet. But the world wants something else . His snap out of the comfort zone, sees him hurtling down a dark road as he flops between shorts like a conduit of the Comedy Devil.

Bailey Snyman’s Gas Lines is a poetic meditation on the displacement of women due to war, trafficking and migration in the 21st century. Set in a dystopian future that oscillates between “its present and ‘our’ history. The dance work explores the challenges of crossing borders into the unknown being forced to run and hide from our identities and seeking refuge through the empathy of others. Gas Lands is a statement on resilience in the face of adversity. It is a sad, yet ultimately hopeful story –a requiem for all women and men who have carved a path from the past into the present and beyond the future.

Fruit is a fragile story about a little girl Matlakala who grows up in a Township ravaged by crime and poverty.

A story with innocence and purity.

Does the youth of South Africa know what their Human Rights are? How to exercise these rights? Are Human Rights accessible to everyone. Are they realistic in our lived experiences? Set against the background of South Africa’s current social-political context this play explores how young South Africans perceive their Human Rights. The play uses satire to interrogate and at times ridicule their relevance in real life.

Peaceful Thulare and Ntokozo Deyi take us on a comedic journey through the colourful way they perceive the world. “Because Life Happens” this world can be cold and cruel. They remedy this through the gift of laughter. Come get your dose from Dr Thulare and Doctor Deyi.

Artificially Infeminated, directed by award winning comedian Rob Van Vuuren, is Claudine’s debut one woman stand up comedy show that explores the intricacies of being cis gender female, pale white, chubby, Jewish and middle child in Jo’burg #millenialslovelabels.

Tuck into a feast of exquisite shadow puppetry: 2 Dee explores the spectacular versatility of this ancient art-form through a collection of poetry and short stories. Prepare to be captivated and delighted by the meeting of light and shadow and charmed by the improvised poetry and hilarious audience participation. Avril Cummins will leave you wondering why we ever thought we needed three dimensions.