The Centre for the Less Good Idea is an interdisciplinary incubator space for the arts based in Maboneng, Johannesburg

Phala Ookeditse Phala

Season 5 is curated by Phala Ookeditse Phala and David April

Taking place 24 - 28 April 2019
Programmes starting at 6:30 and 8pm daily

Co-curated by Phala O Phala and David Thatanelo April, Season 5 of The Centre for the Less Good Idea sees traditional forms of art and performance being re-imagined through free-spirited, transdisciplinary collaboration and the alternative realities made possible by technology.

Through a series of short-form 11-minute epics as well as 3-minute 360 VR films, Season 5 will attempt to make sense of embodied narratives and contemporary spiritualities. It will present performances that refuse to begin, and posit the outcomes of stories that have been lost to history. Internal monologues will be rendered tangible through virtual reality, and cityscapes will find grounding in an experimental opera.

Above all else, vulnerability, imperfection, and a move towards the unknown will find resonance through a pursuit for the less good idea.

Phala O. Phala | Co-curator

Phala O. Phala is a multi-award-winning theatre-maker and director and is the co-curator for Season 5 of The Centre for the Less Good Idea. Phala champions storytelling in this Season’s body of work, and employs a keen eye for interrogation into the many narratives that have taken shape over the making of Season 5’s works.

For Phala, who prizes emotional and psychologically-stimulating storytelling in his work, process is the guiding factor in his role as co-curator, starting with the generation of a multitude of materials from various angles, and allowing form and structure to follow. As such, many of the final works in Season 5 have taken their lead from an intensive free-writing exercise led by Phala during the workshopping sessions.

In addition to co-curating and helping to form many of the works and 11-minute epics in Season 5, Phala will also bring his directorial skills to the collaborative work BAPA and will be collaborating on pieces with writers, directors and performers such as Calvin Ratladi, Khutjo Green, and Sue Pam-Grant.