“Amajuba
shows us far more than sadness, it is also about joy, intimacy, energy, the will to survive.” —
The
Scotsman AfricaNOW: Currents of a Continent, the Walker Art Center’s ongoing exploration of contemporary
expression from across sub-Saharan Africa, continues with
The Farber Foundry’s Amajuba:
Like Doves We Rise at 8 pm Thursday–Saturday, February 22–24, and at 2 pm Sunday, February 25, in
the William and Nadine McGuire Theater. Based on the lives of the five cast members,
Amajuba
is a vivid and mesmerizing portrayal of growing up in apartheid South Africa, a work that transcends time and place with universal
issues that confront humanity, particularly those of the modern city. At once powerful, humorous, and deeply moving, this
new theater work by South African director/playwright Yael Farber (one of the country’s most innovative and expressive
theatrical directors) is a tightly bound narrative of jarring authenticity and joyous celebration. Through movement, unforgettable
vocal work, and the timeless power of storytelling, this immensely uplifting performance transforms even the grimmest of realities
into art: allow yourself to be swept away. A postshow discussion with the cast and members of aMaze, a local nonprofit with
an award-winning antiracist educational program in use by Minnesota schoolchildren, takes place following the Thursday performance.
Committed to creating new theater in South Africa amidst the extraordinary challenges facing artists without funding,
The Farber Foundry was formed to give voice to the country’s shattered history and provide a forum for both healing
from the past and visualizing the future.
Under the direction of Yael Farber, the company has collaborated with South
African artists over the past 10 years. The works range from deeply personal testimonies (
Woman in Waiting—the
biographical journey into the female life lived under Apartheid;
He Left Quietly— a survivor’s
experiences of South Africa’s Death Row; and
Amajuba to radical “re-visionings”
of the classics (
SeZaR—a highly charged adaptation of Julius Caesar; and
Molora—a
reworking of the
Oresteia Trilogy into the context of the Truth Commissions as an examination
of revenge).
Yael Farber Award-winning director and playwright Yael Farber is an artist
of international acclaim. Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, she has earned a reputation for powerful works which
seek to articulate the experiences of South Africans as well as her radical re-visionings of the Classics. Farber directed
and collaboratively wrote
A Woman in Waiting, which was developed at The Joseph Public Theatre
in New York and played on London’s West End. This production has garnered several international awards, including a
Scotsman Fringe First in Edinburgh 2000, and a BBC Gold Sony Award for Best Drama. In 2001, Farber was commissioned by the
Haus de Kultuur in Berlin to create the acclaimed
He Left Quietly, which she wrote with Duma
Kumalo, a survivor of apartheid while on South Africa’s Death Row, was staged in Dublin and Amsterdam.
SeZaR,
her radically adapted Julius Caesar, won her several awards, including a VITA Best Production and Best Director, and toured
extensively in the U.K. and Northern Ireland with the support of the Oxford Playhouse. It was also the Oxford Playhouse that
toured
Amajuba to the U.K. in 2003 and 2004 in association with The Farber Foundry. Directed
by Farber and written in collaboration with her cast,
Amajuba enjoyed great success at The Barbican,
and won the Angel Herald Award at Edinburgh last year. Most recently, Farber created and directed
Molora,
her adaptation of the ancient Greek
Oresteia Trilogy, commissioned when Farber won the Standard
Bank Artist of the Year Award in 2003. It was presented at the Laokoon Kampnagel Festival in Hamburg last year, and in Japan
this year to outstanding acclaim. Farber won her first national Best Director Award for her multiple award-winning production
of Mark Ravenhill’s
Shopping and F**king. She is a past invitee of the Lincoln Theatre
Director’s Workshop; was a resident artist at the Mabou Mines Theatre Company in New York; and was invited to develop
a new work at the Sundance Theatre Laboratory in Utah, USA. Farber is currently writing the biography of Duma Kumalo about
his experiences on South Africa’s Death Row.
Bongeka Mpongwana Bongeka Mpongwana
is a versatile actress, singer, and dancer who grew up in Cedarville (known by the locals as “Stavella”), a small
village in the Transkei on the eastern coastline of South Africa. After studying at Clairwood High School in Durban, she attended
Pretoria Technikon where she graduated in 2001 with a National Diploma in Drama. She gained invaluable experience in the student
productions:
Conflicting Motions;
The Nun’s Romantic Story
(lead);
Ancient Stars;
Curl Up and Dye and
Beauty
en die Bees. Bongeka appeared in two short films:
Stronghold (lead) and
When
We Were Kids, and has been involved in AIDS education through the medium of theater in the production Check It Out.
In 2004, she played the lead role in
Taste Like Strawberries at the Windybrow Theatre in Johannesburg.
Phillip “Tipo” Tindisa Phillip Tindisa started acting in 1985. He formed
G.B.R. Productions in 1992 and received a diploma in drama in 1997. He has performed in the following student and mainstream
productions:
Tselane and the Grand by Dos Molele,
Threepenny Opera
by Laten Poren;
Silent Voice, The Big Three Boys by Aubrey Sekhabi;
Urban
Reality and
Messiah by Paul Grootboom;
Vryburg Song by Itumeleng
Motsikoe; and
Amajuba, including its tours in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
Jabulile
Tshabalala Jabulile Tshabalala was initially involved with community development projects. In 1994 she joined Gibson
Kente’s School of Acting, and the following year appeared in her first television series,
Mama’s
Love (supporting character Hloniphile). In 1996 she performed in Gibson Kente’s stage production
Mfowethu.
In 1998 she completed her second television series as a lead character, Lahliwe. She has also performed in the industrial
theater production
The Building Has Begun by Don Sugar Mlangeni. In the year 2000 she joined
the North West Arts Council and performed in a contemporary dance piece by Ellington Mazibuko. She has performed in
Coca-Cola by Aubrey Sekhabi;
Vryburg Song,
Julius
Caesar and
Maru by Itumeleng Motsikoe; and
Amajuba. In addition
to her acting skills she has also recorded two albums as a backing vocalist.
Tshallo Chokwe
Tshallo Chokwe began his theater career in semi-professional productions such as
Phata-Phata
(1984/85). He was a finalist in the national Shell Road to Fame contest, studied at Wits Drama School, and has performed in
Bopha, Woza Albert! and
The Beaters, directed by Aubrey Sekhabi
and
Sum and Total by Victor Maloka. In 1991–93 he toured Germany and Denmark with Ababhemi.
He won Best Actor in Technikon Pretoria with Tony Kgoroge’s
Rough Tough Time. He also won
Most Promising Young Actor for his performance in
Not With My Gun directed by Aubrey Sekhabi
and has been featured in various productions with North West Arts, including
Urban Reality by
Paul Grootboom in 1998;
The Stick by Aubrey Sekhabi in 2000;
Master Harold
and the Boys directed by Jerry Pooe in 2003; and
Amajuba.
Roelf
Matlala Roelf Matlala received his certificate in Drama from The Phakama Project & Action School of Drama and
has performed in such productions as Hell We Can and Black Age by the international award-winning director Selaelo Maredi.
Other productions include: Short Hair, Flat Nose and Third Coming by Martin Koboekae. Matlala was awarded Best Actor for his
role in Black Age at the Stop Crime Drama Festival, and was in the Best Production award-winning God Will Come at the Windy
Brow Arts Festival.
Don Sugar Mlangeni In the year 2000 Mlangeni joined the North West
Arts Council and performed in a contemporary dance piece by Ellington Mazibuko. She has performed in the industrial theater
production
Coca-Cola by Aubrey Sekhabi;
Vryburg Song,
Julius
Caesar and
Maru by Itumeleng Motsikoe; and
Amajuba. In addition
to her acting skills, she has recorded two albums as a backing vocalist. .
