SEASON 11 | VISUAL RADIO PLAYS
L-R: Anathi Conjwa, Billy Langa, Katlego Letsholonyane & MoMo Matsunyane in ‘Emalahleni’. Photographer | Zivanai Matangi
Following The Centre’s key methodologies of collaborative making, free-spirited engagement with materials, and allowing oneself to be led by image, sound and impulse, this series of original short-form radio plays by South African writers and theatremakers is mounted for the stage, using live foley and performance.
WORLD-CLASS AFRICAN CITIZENS
Frantic voices and the sound of paper and plastic crinkled into the microphone conjure a scene of a building being slowly consumed by flames. It is into this scene that the audience is invited, and the story of World-Class African Citizens begins to unfold.
Following the 2023 fire at the 80 Albert Street building that claimed 77 lives, World-Class African Citizens tells the fictional story of a journalist visiting and interviewing a group of people who chose to remain in a burned building in Johannesburg.
Written by journalist Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon, and directed by theatremaker Jaques De Silva, this is a fictionalised drama that speaks to an all-too-familiar Johannesburg reality.
CREDITS
WRITER | Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon
DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR | Jaques De Silva
PERFORMERS | Katlego Letsholonyane, Peggy Mongoato, Namatshego Khutsoane & Qondiswa James
MUSICIANS & FOLEY ARTISTS | Austebza Sedumedi, Anathi Conjwa, Nozipho Mnguni & Daniel Stompie Selibe
THE DALMATION & THE DUCK
Set in a South African family home in leafy suburbia, The Dalmation & the Duck follows a dinner party gone hilariously wrong.
Written by theatremaker Andrew Buckland, and voiced by Billy Langa, Ayanda Seoka, Ngwedi Ramphele and Katlego Letsholonyane, the play is fast, witty, and a classic example of “theatre of the mind.”
Under the direction of Peggy Mongoato, and with live music and foley by Shane Cooper, Candice Moleshe, and Micca Manganye, the world and the characters of Buckland’s script are brought to life in a playful and compelling way.
CREDITS
WRITER | Andrew Buckland
DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR | Peggy Mongoato
PERFORMERS | Billy Langa, Ayanda Seoka, Ngwedi Ramphele & Katlego Letsholonyane
MUSICIANS & FOLEY ARTISTS | Shane Cooper, Candice Moleshe & Micca Manganye
EMALAHLENI
The cough and splutter of a life lived underground. Here, men work in darkness, blasting through rock and soil, moving deeper into the earth.
Written and directed by Qondiswa James, eMalahleni examines the lives of those working in the artisanal mining sector as coal miners. The story is in relation to the Just Energy Transition and the way information and opportunities are disseminated (or not) by government and corporations.
Performed with live foley, eMalahleni portrays both an immersive narrative and sonic world, drawn from the everyday realities of South Africa’s artisanal miners, eking out a living in unlivable conditions.
CREDITS
WRITER, DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR | Qondiswa James
PERFORMERS | Billy Langa, Katlego Letsholonyane, Anathi Conjwa & MoMo Matsunyane
MUSICIANS & FOLEY ARTISTS | Micca Manganye, Candice Moleshe & Shane Cooper
AND THEN THE SEA…
A departure from the original script, And Then the Sea… is a one-hander that explores the translation of an experimental and surrealist text into a physical and sonic performance for the stage.
Written and directed by William Harding, and performed by Jaques De Silva, And Then The Sea… features minimal text, focussing instead on a narrative that is almost entirely physical and sonic, short-circuiting the logic of conventional radio plays.
Oscillating wildly between microphone and foley table, leaping across stage to generate a sound effect and back again to stop just short of reading his lines, the performance is itself an experimental and surreal act.
CREDITS
WRITER & DIRECTOR | William Harding
PERFORMER & FOLEY ARTIST | Jaques De Silva
All text by David Mann