NEWS

MARITZBURG ARTS FESTIVAL

Festival fever hits KZN with the second annual Maritzburg Arts Festival which runs from August 10 to 17.

The innovative and resourceful Pieter-maritzburg Arts Network (PAN) has once again secured sponsorship from Caltex to present this festival which focuses on Peace through the Arts.

"Events have been carefully chosen to appeal to all audiences of all tastes, cultures and backgrounds so as to encourage a measure of understanding through cultural exchange" says organiser Laura Netscher.

MUSIC

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, returning from Atlanta, will perform with the Maritzburg Choral Society under the baton of Joshua Radebe. Two local Isicathamiya champion groups appear at the YMCA on August 10 at 14h00.

The Natal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Naume Rousine will perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto with Russian pianist Margarita Shevchenko at the City Hall on August 14 at 19h00. Also on the programme are works by Britten, Purcell and Mendelssohn.

Amanda Strydom performs in her triple award-winning show, State of the Heart, which is directed by Ian Roberts at the Hexagon on August 14 (14h00 & 18h00) and August 15 (15h00 & 20h30). It tells of the love between an Afrikaner girl and an English pilot in the days when girls had to "know their place" and the boys "smoked springboktwak."

The Drakensberg Boys' Choir will join the Sherborne School Swing Band from Dorset in music by Glenn Miller, Count Bassie, James Brown and Lennie Die-haus at the Girl's High School Commu-nity Centre on August 16 (19h00).The Peace Concert features Rebecca Malope, Pure Magic, Caltex's Sharon Katz and the Peace Train and other local dance and music groups at Jan Smuts Stadium on August 17 (13h00).

Some of South Africa's most talented up-and-coming as well as established jazz artists will perform at the new jazz venue - the Varsity Club from 19h00. They include Ubunye (August 11), Darius Brubeck and the Afro-Cool Concept (August 14), Southern Freeway (August 16) and jazz veteran Sipho Gumede (August 17).

The Absolut Buzz Bar's rock perfor-mances feature Swarm, Odin's Nails, What She Said, Next of Kin, Landscape Prayers, Syd Kitchen and the Utensils, Stonedhenge and Squeal amongst others.

DRAMA

Andrew Buckland returns to the festival in his one-man piece, Noisy Walk, a development of material originating in his two plays, Between the Teeth and No Easy Walk, promising to take the audience on an hilarious, fascinating journey through the life of a man and his antagonist. This mime show is at the Hexagon (August 10: 16h00 & 21h00 and August 11: 14h00 and 19h00).

Kay Makan Electronics presents Alter-native Action, a light comedy written and directed by Kessie Govender that looks at the effects of democracy on unsuspecting South Africans at the Studio Theatre (August 15, 16 & 17 at 20h00).

Renowned KZN performer Bheki Mkhwane who has toured Europe and played the Edinburgh Festival, will perform his one-man play, Solomon's Pride, directed by recent Vita awards winner Greig Coetzee, at the Studio Theatre (August 13, 15 & 16: 18h00). The play aims to present an amusing but poignant look at the trials and tribulations of a champion gumboot dancer and goldminer. Known for his skills in mime and physical theatre, Bheki often works with Ellis Pearson.

Renowned storyteller Patrick Mynhardt performs at the Hexagon (August 14: 20h30, August 16: 11h00 & 21h00 and August 17: 14h00 and 21h00).

The popular a cappella group Cutt Glas plays the Studio Theatre (August 12: 18h00 and August 13: 14h00 & 19h00).

Award-winning playwright and director Anthony Ackerman's newest and highly amusing play, Old Boys, is based on his experiences at Michaelhouse and had a successful run in Durban recently. It is booked in at the Hexagon (August 10: 13h00 & 18h00, August 11: 16h00 and August 12: 14h00 and 19h00).

DANCE

Caltex presents the Playhouse Dance Company's Kick-Start (see p.15) at the Hexagon Theatre (August 13: 19h00).

The Festival of Indian Dance showcases folk and classical Indian dance in the Hexagon Theatre (August 17: 18h00).

VISUAL ARTS

The festival also features the exhibition by Trevor Makhoba, this year's Stan-dard Bank Young Artist Award winner for visual art, at the Tatham Art Gallery. Trevor Makhoba will run a two-day guest artist project (August 14 & 15) and conduct a public tour (August 15: 10h30). There'll be a sign-interpreted tour for the deaf and hard of hearing (August 24: 10h30).

Also at the Tatham there's The Garret Artists' Drawing Exhibition by artists who are members of a Durban-based study drawing group with Jeanette Gilks.

There are several exhibitions at the Voortrekker Museum:

Pietermaritzburg photographer Ian Huntley's The Low-lit Years: South African Jazz Photography (1964-1974) features South Africa's jazz musicians; Caltex's Sevadhi (Treasures) features contemporary Indian fine arts from the Durban Cultural and Documentation Centre; Drawing Towards an Idea shows preparatory drawings and studies by artists who work in different ways, and there's the interestingAgfa's Textured Lives II : Personalities on Location, Val Adamson's second solo black-and-white exhibition.

LATEST POETRY

The latest poetry by local poets goes on sale in a new journal, Fidelities II which will be launched in the Hexagon com-plex (August 11: 16h30).

The Pietermaritzburg Publicity Associa-tion hosts several tours: Victorian Pie- termaritzburg (August 10: 09h00-12h30); Mosque and Hindu temples (August 14: 09h00- 12h30) and the Voor-trekker Trail (August 17: 09h00-12h00).

Phemba Kahle

, a local arts initiative, will host a Songs for Peace gospel and isicathamiya competition in the City Gardens opposite the City Hall during the entire week of the festival.

There are craft markets on the first and last Saturdays and the city's first internet cafŠ, Double Action Surf CafŠ will be at the Hexagon complex.

INFORMATION

Fringe information is listed in the official festival programme on sale at the Pietermaritzburg Publicity Association as well as at Computicket outlets.

Book at Computicket, the Pietermaritz-burg Publicity Association on (0331)

45-1348, or at venues before shows.

For details phone (0331) 45-1348.