Silkworm is a one-person, award-winning theatrical performance exploring the “ordinary things that make life extraordinary”. Artists who can captivate their audience non-stop for a solid hour are amazing! Taryn Bennett does that in her portrayal of Georgina, a “gregarious and socially awkward” young woman “about to have the single most important day of her life” – revealed in the final moments of the show.
During her performance, Bennett interacts with the audience. She uses “storytelling and clowning techniques borrowed from Florence Italy’s Helikos School of Theatre Creation”. “Whimsical,” the performance combines humor with stark reality and leaves a deep impact.
_____________
“Did you know that silkworms only live for about a week? I think…. You can check that on Google.” Georgina
_____________
Jenine Collocott Director
Silkworm – a Contagious Theatre production – is “conceived and directed by Jenine Collocott with additional dramaturgy by Nick Warren”. Based in Johannesburg and Cape Town, Contagious combines the talents of several “critically acclaimed theatre makers with long-time Fringe producers”.
“Jenine studied theatre creation at Helikos in Florence. Her production Making Mandela won the 2016 Naledi for Best Youth Production and was most recently selected as part of the Assitej World Congress Main Programme. Much of Collocott’s work has travelled internationally.”
_____________
“Contagious produces independent fringe theatre that brings the creative freedom, simplicity, and energy of the festival circuit to mainstream audiences.”
_____________
Taryn Bennett Actress
Taryn studied theatre at Rhodes University and has performed for TV, on stage, and at the National Arts Festival. Her critically acclaimed Silkworm performance won a 2018 Ovation Award. Recently Taryn’s performance in The Old Man and the Sea was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2018 Naledi Theatre Awards.
_____________
“Clowning is about spotting, understanding, and surpassing individual and/or collective difficulties with the help of clown resources and theatre interactivity”. Les aventures de Zippo le clown
_____________
Silkworm
Silkworm is “described as a dollop of humor and a touch of whimsy”. The theatrical production uses “clowning storytelling techniques”.
In Silkworm “the clown is influenced by the audience”. Members of the audience determine parts of the show and “no two shows are the same”. For the clown, “the audience is really there”. “There’s no fourth wall.”
“Theatre Clowning is essentially an intuitive style of storytelling that’s quite naive yet super sophisticated. If a person is able to access the child within themselves, they will be taken on the journey with the clown.”
Silkworm is a brilliant theater performance! It was a memorable evening!