I attended another Artscape performance last week. The musical “Reflection of A Forgotten Youth” focused on South African youth in 1976 and wasn’t like what I imagined. South Africa Youth Day June 16, 1976 “marked the beginning of the Soweto Uprising, a series of escalating protests around the country, especially in Cape Town”. South Africa…
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During this travel adventure I’ve explored many great museums and galleries in Europe, but South Africa’s Zeitz Museum always remained near the top of my list. I missed it during past visits and made a point of popping in last week. The first and third floors are being renovated and will reopen in August. Even…
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Cape Town Philharmonic 2019 Winter Season premiered at City Hall Concert Hall last night. The talented musicians didn’t disappoint! I sat in the upper bays – a great location for watching the orchestra in action. Over the years, I’ve seen the orchestra perform from various vantage points in the Concert Hall. One memory is sitting…
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I enjoyed a performance of Cape Town’s 4 Tons of Fun at Alexander Theatre last night. They paid tribute to the “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin. Produced by Sthe Mfuphi, Soi Soi Gqeza, Bulelwa Sakayi, and Michelle Thomas, the show featured Aretha’s all-time favorites like “Respect,” “Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” “A Deeper Love,” “Ain’t…
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Fugard Theatre’s production of Kunene and the King is masterful! Talented, seasoned actors gave powerful performances capturing the audience’s full attention. John Kani’s new play presents the deep pent-up emotions of South Africans before and after the end of apartheid twenty-five years ago. No holds barred, it gets to the heart of things. My first…
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During my time in Cape Town, I’m hiking easy to moderate Table Mountain trails and enjoying the Mother City’s performing arts community. There are a variety of unique and outstanding live performances available. Last night was my first visit to the Cape Town Comedy Club – a “dedicated comedy venue”. I had no idea what…
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Artscape Theatre is a favorite venue in Cape Town and last night I attended a performance of I Capuleti e i Montecchi – The Capulets and Montagues. In this creative production, Cape Town Opera (CTO) collaborates with the University of Cape Town (UCT) Opera School to present Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini’s work. It’s based on…
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“That which is seen, cannot be unseen; unless that which is seen was never seen in the first place. Or maybe it was seen, but not quite in the way it happened. If it even happened at all.” Plot Last night I saw Apple Face, a witty, avant-garde comedy written by Pierre Malherbe, directed by…
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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”. The “whimsical” performance combines humor with stark reality and leaves a deep impact.
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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.”
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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.
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“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
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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!
It’s fantastic being back in Cape Town! A location that stole my heart during the first visit in 1987. The beautiful coastal city is surrounded by incomparable Table Mountain. I arrived on May 2nd after a series of flights beginning in Catania Sicily and passing through Rome and Addis Ababa Ethiopia – including two plane…
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Malta is an extraordinary country with many hidden treasures! Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, the Maltese Archipelago is its own world – south of Sicily, east of Tunisia, east of the Strait of Gibraltar, and north of Alexandria Egypt! The three main islands are Malta, Gozo, and Comino. They’re rich in culture…
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