NEWS

1997 ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

KwaZulu-Natal features strongly on the main programme of this year's Standard Bank National Arts Festival organised by the Grahamstown Foundation.

Opera Africa's unique version of Mozart's The Magic Flute, directed by Themi Venturas, heads the opera scene, the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra will perform two concerts and the Playhouse Company's Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre show themselves off at the festival for the first time.

INTERNATIONAL

International highlights include British dramatist Steven Berkoff in One Man. Celebrated Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman will read from his works and talk at the Winter School. There'll be a retro- spective on the films of Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbe; concerts by Cambridge's Trinity College Choir; the renowned Endellion String Quarter and Vienna-based tenor Robert Brooks.

The Nederlands Dans Theatre II presents a programme and an exhibition of K„the Kollwitz's time- defying prints, posters and sculptures is sure to be a major attraction.

HOME

On the home front Sibongile Khumalo pays special tribute to theatre doyen Gibson Kente; Brett Bailey will work with residents of Grahamstown's town-ships to create iMumbo Jumbo and multi-talented musician Pops Mohamed will appear with a traditional Xhosa choir from Lady Frere.

Good news is that last year's favourites, the French street theatre group Les Pi‚tons, return to the festival - this time with members of Soweto's Thesele Creative Society.

TWIST

Deon Opperman and Lizz Meiring give two famous comedies a modern twist in Die Skandaal while Standard Bank young artist award winner Geoffrey Hyland tackles Yukio Mishima's Madame de Sade. Bound to cause interest is William Kentridge and the Handspring Puppet Company's Project Ubu.

Clare Stopford, who directs Paul Herzberg's The Dead Wait, is joined by other well- known drama directors at the festival such as Duma kaNdlovu, Mark Fleishman, Aubrey Sekhabi, Anthony Akerman and Nicholas Ellenbogen.

IMPRESSIVE

From the impressive Gencor Collection of contemporary work to a medley of images inspired by Alfred Jarry's satirical farce, Ubu Roi, art galleries this year focus on prints and cloths, while paper provides the main emphasis of the craftart component.

Photographs also dominate with Lien Botha, recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award.

In an unusual examination of layers of history, David Koloane and Patrick Mautloa invite contributions to their installation. Artists in residence will be Keith Dietrich and Eric Lebisi.

COLLABORATIVE

Alfred Hinkel will lead the Capab Jazzart Dance Theatre while New Moves 1 and 2, Visions is a collaborative work by the Johannesburg Dance Theatre, Durban's Siwela Sonke and the Grahamstown-based First Physical Theatre Company.

Body, Mind and Spirit

is the theme of the Winter School featuring lectures on such subjects as the origins of humanity and genetics along with talks on tradi-tional healing and the evolution of consciousness.

Anything goes in the student drama festival, the cultural showcase for budding performers from universities, technikons and training institutions.

BOOKING KITS

Seasoned festival goers will be eagerly awaiting the indispensable booking kits, the A to Z for festival-goers which will be available from late April at several branches of the Standard Bank in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Bloemfontein.

To secure your booking kit, complete the request form on the Festival leaflet enclosed with this issue and return it to the Festival office without delay.

For further information, phone 0800-12-1000 (toll-free) or (011) 498-4611 on weekdays (08h00 to 21h00) and Saturdays (08h00 to 16h00).

(D'ARTS Editor Caroline Smart is always ready to help and advise would-be first-time festival-goers. Don't hesitate to call her on 261-6036)

DRUM COMPETITION

The KZN Arts and Culture Council will hold a drummers competition in the BAT Concert Hall on April 19 from 12h00. Interested musicians can get details from Brendo Toko at Durban Arts on 23-1236. The public is welcome to attend.

STAR-TREK FESTIVAL

"Beam me up, Scotty!" lives again! During April M-Net will screen a festival of the ever-popular Star- Trek films from April 20 to 26.

ARTS COUNCIL NAMED

The recently-appointed National Arts Council sees three members from KZN.

These are director of the Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bongani Tembe; Kiren Thathiah who is a senior lecturer at UDW and Musa Xulu, head of music at the University of Zululand.

Veteran actor John Kani is also a member as are Elize Botha, retired head of Unisa's department of Afrikaans; Lisa Combrink, English lecturer at Vista; Vanessa Cooke, actor and president of PAWE; visual artist and arts educator David Koloane; Corinna Lowry of the Johannesburg Dance Foundation; director of the South African National Gallery, Marilyn Martin; Zakhe Ngqobe, execu-tive director of the National Crafts Association, and theatre producer Christopher Seabrooke.

The council's duty is to channel public funds to the arts while maintaining an arm's length independence of government.

NEWBORNS

Newborns - a celebration of life

is the exhibition currently running at Java @ Java in Marriott Road.

"Children are an integral part of our lives" reads the publicity material, "but their existence is often taken for granted. This exhibition will in some respects serve as a `speakeasy' for artists working in any medium to share their feelings on birth, infancy and childhood."