Season 8 of The Centre for the Less Good Idea was curated by performer, musician, writer, and educator Bongile Gorata Lecoge-Zulu, and used the provocations of Breath & Mythology to produce a programme of new collaborative, experimental, and interdisciplinary work.

The performances that make up Season 8’s programme of work prize the musical, the physical and the narrative, and are equal parts humorous, absurd and contemplative. Additionally, a multi-media exhibition was on show for the duration of the Season. Titled Thinking in Poetry and Cardboard, the exhibition serves as an archive of process for both the SO Academy’s Thinking in Cardboard mentorship programme, and the The Khala Series 2021 | 100 Poem Project, curated by poet Upile Chisala.

PROVOCATION 1 | BREATHE & BREATHING AGAIN

A Season of work prompted in part by the activity of breathing might seem an obvious choice now, but harnessing breath as a provocation for Season 8 of the Centre was a decision made prior to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

In this way, many of the works in this Season feel both prophetic and sharply relevant, musing on the absence of breath and the tentative or revelatory act of breathing once more. That said, there is also a conscious effort to refuse the overt and ready interpretations of the theme, opting instead to pursue its abstractions and lesser-known understandings. There is breath as necessity, as music, language, loss, presence, and more.

Breath has also played a vital role in the daily warm-ups and overall structure of the preliminary workshops that preceded this Season of work, and has influenced much of the thinking behind the performances. There is the idea of revitalising forgotten or erased figures and histories, and an attempt at understanding our preoccupation with breath in relation to work and process – breath control, letting a text breathe, or breathing new life into old ideas.

Finally, there is much meditation on the relationship between breath and the body, and how we both care for and relate to our bodies – and the bodies of others – during a period where the notion of breath is perhaps more crucial than ever before.

PROVOCATION 2 | MYTHOLOGY

Where do folktales, narratives, taboos, and legends originate? How do they influence our ways of making sense of the world? Rather than seeking to address these questions directly, Season 8 engages the varying forms and functions of myth, and has, at its core, a preoccupation with mythology both ancient and contemporary.

Drawing on notions of religion, spirituality, imagination, personal mythology and more, this Season’s works were tested and generated through the stage, the page, and the movement of the body. As a result, many of the works in the Season locate mythology in one’s personhood, upbringing, culture, and heritage. They span the monstrous, the magical, the political, the ceremonial, and the allegorical while holding a keen interest in the translation and reading of mythology across language, site, and identity.

While the provocation is a serious one that lends a solemn underpinning to much of the work, there is also a commitment to the humorous, the joyful, the fantastical and the absurd in equal measure. In the tradition of The Centre, many of these works embrace the methodology of performance in process, and pursue the secondary, the incidental, and the emergent idea.

PRODUCTION FOR THE CENTRE

CURATOR
Bongile Gorata Lecoge-Zulu

LEAD DIRECTOR
Faniswa Yisa

ARTISTIC ADVISOR
Nhlanhla Mahlangu

PARTICIPANTS
Ayanda Seoka
Calvin Seretle Ratladi
Clare Loveday
Iman Isaacs
Katlego KayGee Letsholonyane
Khanyisile Ngwabe
Micca Manganye
Macaleni Muzi Shili
Sibahle Mangena
Sinenhlanhla Prince Mgeyi
Siphumeze Khundayi
Thabo Rapoo
Thembinkosi Mavimbela
Thulisile Binda
Zarcia Zacheus

ANIMATEUR | Phala Ookeditse Phala
CO-DIRECTOR | Bronwyn Lace
MOMENTEUR FOR THE SO ACADEMY | Athena Mazarakis
DIRECTOR OF CINEMATOGRAPHY & EDITING | Noah Cohen
SOUND ENGINEER | Zain Vally
ADMINISTRATOR, PROJECT MANAGER & HEAD STAGE MANAGER | Dimakatso Motholo
STAGE MANAGER | Nthabiseng Malaka
HOUSEKEEPING & SPACE MANAGER | Gracious Dube

PHOTOGRAPHER
Zivanai Matangi

EDITOR
Noah Cohen

COSTUME & SET DESIGNERS
Nthabiseng Malaka
Natalie Paneng

SOUND ENGINEERS
Zain Vally
Ross Culverwell
Daev Moyo

CINEMATOGRAPHERS
Noah Cohen

JUNIOR CINEMATOGRAPHER
Bukhosibakhe Kelvin Khosa

LIVESTREAM ENGINEER
Chris-Waldo de Wet

LIGHTING DESIGNER
Wesley France

LIGHTING TECHNICIANS & OPERATORS
Matthews Phala
Themba Mthimkulu
Bongani Mpofu

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Smangaliso Ngwenya

PROGRAMME DESIGNER
Phala O. Phala

WRITER
David Mann

PUBLICITY
Azania Public
POPArt Productions

FRONT OF HOUSE
POPArt Productions:
Hayleigh Evans
Dintshitile Mashile
Khanyisile Zwane
Rethabile Headbush
Emil Lars
Ncumisa Ndimeni

With The Market Theatre Lab 2nd Year Students:
Kefenste Mokoena, Lungile Mabaso, Zevangeli Mpofu, Onakho Hlanti, Omolemo Magabe, Nomcebo Khonoti, Mthobisi Gasa, Aviwe Dasha, Lerato Ndlovu, Nhlanhla Sadiki, Muzi Trust, Buntu Ceza & Thato Mosebi

LIGHTING GEAR SUPPLIER
Gearhouse Splitbeam (Pty) Ltd

STAGING SUPPLIER
Setsational

SOUND EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER
SoulFire Studio (Pty) Ltd

Special thanks:
Linda Leibowitz, Natalie Dembo, Anne McIlleron, Anne Blom, Joy Woolcott, Chris-Waldo de Wet, Jacques van Staden, Joey Netshiombo, Diego Sillands & Thandi Mzizi Nkabinde