 Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom / Welcome to Rocksburg
Described as the ‘Township Tarantino’ Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom is one of South Africa’s most exciting and talked about theatre makers. Welcome to Rocksburg provides a gritty, unsentimental view of life in the townships today. It is a story about a cash-in-transit heist, the criminals who carry it out, the cops who investigate it, and the community they all live in. The play’s protagonist is a facially disfigured young man, who falls in love with the wrong girl and ends up deep in the criminal underworld playing a cat and mouse game against the criminals and a corrupt police force. Following the tradition of successful Hollywood action movies, this is an original South African action play with a powerful Beauty and the Beast style love story at its core. Sudden stills and a violent robbery that changes into a slow motion dance gives the production its movie feel. The piece presented as a cartoon book with nine separate chapters, each told by a different character in a dream-like scenes. Grootboom knows how to dissect violence and poverty in the black township and takes it to a higher level. With eight actors and two musicians.
Director: Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom / Live Music: Joseph Kgomo (percussion), Velaphi Mahlaola (jembe) / Production: South African State Theatre, Pretoria / Duration: 120 min. English spoken.
Eindhoven, Parktheater / Fri 24 & Sat 25 Sep / 8.30pm
Amsterdam, MC Theater / Fri 1 & Sat 2 Oct / 8.30pm
Ticket Shop MC Theater: 020 606 50 40 (3.00pm - 5.00pm) or tickets via the ticketshop of Afrovibes/MC
Winchester, Theatre Royal / Tue 5th & Wed 6th Oct / 7.30pm
Harrow, Harrow Arts Centre / Thu 7th Oct / 8pm
London/Deptford, The Albany / Fri 8th at 7.30pm & Sat 9th Oct at 3pm (Matinee) & 7.30pm
Barnsley, Barnsley Civic / Fri 15th Oct / 7.30pm
Birmingham, The Drum / Sat 16th 7.30pm & Sun 17th Oct 6pm
Durham, Gala Theatre / Mon 18th Oct / 7.30pm
Manchester, Contact / Wed 20th, Thu 21st Oct at 2pm & 8pm, Fri 22nd Oct at 8pm
Nottingham, Nottingham Playhouse / Sat 23rd Oct / 7.45pm
 Ncamisa! Kiss the Women
In this dazzling piece, the young actress Pam Ngwabeni tells about how it feels to be black and gay in the township of Khayelitsha, near Cape Town. It consists of a series of dramatised scenes of Ngwabeni's own experiences in a black community and the violence that a different lifestyle can evoke. Only soccer, one of the most current communications in the township, makes Ngwabeni feel included. The various scenes about soccer, dance, sex and love are connected smoothly, and framed with a contemporary soundtrack including Antony and the Johnsons and Lucinda Williams, coming to life through dance and performance. Kiss! The Women is a raw and explosive piece, a form of theatre where the Hearts and Eyes Collective earned their fame. English spoken.
Director & Producer: Peter Hayes (Hearts and Eyes Collective, Cape Town) / Actress: Pam Ngwabeni / Duration: 60 min.
Eindhoven, Parktheater / Thu 23-Sat 25 Sep / 9.30pm
Amsterdam, MC Theater / Wed 29 & Thu 30 Sep at 10.00pm / Sat 2 Oct at 9.30pm
Ticket Shop MC Theater: 020 606 50 40 (3.00pm - 5.00pm) or tickets via the ticketshop of Afrovibes/MC
Amsterdam, Bijlmer Parktheater: Afro Ladies Night (double bill with A Face like Mine) / Fri 1 Oct / 8.00pm
Newcastle, Live Theatre / Tue 5th Oct & Wed 6th Oct / 8.30pm
London/Deptford, The Albany / Thu 7th Oct at 7.30pm
London/Deptford, The Albany - Double Bill with A Face like Mine / Sat 9th Oct at 7.00pm & Sun 10th Oct at 6.00pm
Birmingham, The Drum - Double Bill with A Face like Mine / Tue 12th Oct & Wed 13th Oct / 7.30pm
Manchester, Contact / Tue 19th Oct, Wed 20th Oct, Fri 22nd Oct & Sat 23rd Oct / 7.30pm
Luton, The Hat Factory / Thu 21st Oct / 7.30pm
 A Face Like Mine
The young playwright and actress Asanda Phewa reveals the damaged self-image of young black women who dream about being white. Asanda Phewa tackles the subject in a very intimate way and digs deep into the difficult question of culture and identity. She is not afraid to use her own body and her dark skin to tell this story. The subtle relationships, the hidden racism among black women and white men and the prejudices black women have about themselves are all explored. Can you belong to a culture without knowing the language and the traditions? One of the highlights of this piece is a very strong lyrical and sensual sonnet, a look at how a black woman takes a bath every morning, getting dressed and ready for the day ahead.
Director: Asanda Phewa / Actress: Asanda Phewa a.o. / Production: Baxter Theatre, Cape Town / Duration: 40 min. English spoken. Live music (accoustic guitar).
Eindhoven, Parktheater / Wed 22 Sep at 8.30 pm and Thu 23 - Sat 25 Sep / 7.00pm
Amsterdam, MC Theater / Tue 28 - Thu 30 Sep at 7.00pm / Sat 2 Oct at 7.00pm
Ticket Shop MC Theater: 020 606 50 40 (3.00pm - 5.00pm) or tickets via the ticketshop of Afrovibes/MC
Amsterdam, Bijlmer Parktheater / Fri 1 Oct. at 8.00pm (part of Afro Ladies Night - see below)
London/Deptford, The Albany / Wednesday 6th at 7.30pm
London/Deptford, The Albany - Double Bill with Kiss! The Women (Ncamisa) / Sat 9th Oct at 7.00pm & Sun 10th Oct at 6.00pm
Newcastle, Live Theatre / Thu 7th Oct & Fri 8th Oct / 8.30pm
Birmingham, The Drum - Double Bill with with Kiss! The Women (Ncamisa) / Tue 12th Oct & Wed 13th Oct / 7.30pm
Peterborough, The Key Theatre / Thu 14th Oct / 7.30pm
 Nannies Only
Actors Mathieu Güthschmidt, Louise van Wingerden and Esther Mugambi are hiding in a basement. There are things happening that cannot bear daylight. Matthieu defends the idea of group segregation on a racial basis, to protect one’s own culture. He believes in it and asks for our understanding. Louise personally experienced segregation, speaks of it with a youthful energy and tells us almost every white person in South Africa has a black nanny. Her experience opposes his ideas. Welcome to a black-and-white world that exists not only in South Africa, but also elsewhere. Nannies Only is like a roller coaster through human ethics. A cutting edge show about the dangers of segregating people because of their origin, race or religion.
Company: Het Zuidelijk Toneel / Text: Erik-Ward Geerlings / Director: Matthijs Rümke, Erik-Ward Geerlings / Actors: Louise van Wingerden, Esther Mugambi, Mathieu Güthschmidt / Duration: 90 min. Dutch, English & Afrikaans spoken.
Eindhoven, Parktheater / Thu 23 - Sat 25 Sep / 8.15pm
Amsterdam, MC Theater / Tue 28 - Thu 30 Sep at 8.15pm / Fri 1 Oct at 9.15pm
Ticket Shop MC Theater: 020 606 50 40 (3.00pm - 5.00pm) or tickets via the ticketshop of Afrovibes/MC
Afro Ladies Night in Amsterdam: double bill A Face Like Mine & Kiss! The Women;
A special evening for black women by black women. Double bill with
Kiss! The Women & A Face Like Mine. Introduction by Gloria Wekker, professor anthropology Utrecht University, about self images of young black women. Followed by panel debate. English spoken
Double Bill in London and Birmingham
London/Deptford, The Albany - Double Bill with A Face like Mine / Sat 9th Oct at 7.00pm & Sun 10th Oct at 6.00pm
Birmingham, The Drum - Double Bill with A Face like Mine / Tue 12th Oct & Wed 13th Oct / 7.30pm
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