All cities have personalities. Johannesburg is understood as an electrifying city that’s fast and ever-changing, comprised of various exposed and submerged working parts, always seemingly on the precipice of collapse or great change. It is this everyday complexity that is of interest.

Curated by The Centre’s Impresario, Neo Muyanga, COLLATION 3 | The Unexpected City engages the city through its artists, inhabitants and everyday voices in order to present a programme of short-form theatre, site-specific performances, films, and installations.

IN AND AROUND ARTS ON MAIN

OPEN REHEARSAL | DUMBE JEALOUS DOWN

The Jeppestown-based isicathamiya group Dumbe Jealous Down activated the Events Space of Arts on Main through a daily open rehearsal. Beyond establishing a connection between the art made in and around Maboneng and surrounds, and the way of working at The Centre for the Less Good Idea, these performances also kicked off each day’s programme.

CREDITS

PERFORMERS | Dumbe Jealous Down: Skhumbuzo Mhlanga, Bheki Makhanya, Xoli Makhanya, Sphamandla Makhanya, Thabani Ntuli, Mathatho Zwane, Mphikeleli Mbatha, Mkhawu Ndlozi, Nathi Zulu, Jackson Kunene, Bongani Mdlalose, Tshapa Dlamini, Khura Dlamini, Lethu Thwala, Sandile Zwane, Mdu Zwane, Mjomba Zwane, Dumsani Mtshali, Nzuks Makhanya & Papa Khumalo

20 janie street, jeppestown

20 Janie Street, Jeppestown, a film by artists Stephen Hobbs and Angel Khumalo, centred around both Dumbe Jealous Down and the Jeppestown building that Khumalo used to live in. The film was projected in and around Arts on Main, projected in public spaces and often served as the audience’s first encounter as they arrived at The Centre.

CREDITS

FILMMAKERS | Stephen Hobbs & SA Khumalo
FEATURING | Dumbe Jealous Down
SOUND DESIGN | Soul Circle Studios
SOUND EQUIPMENT | Digital Fabric

Sound Lab | RESONANCE AND RUPTURE: EXPERIMENTAL LISTENING EXERCISES FOR IMAGINING THE FUTURE CITY

The Johannesburg-based sound art collective, Playgroup, (Jill Richards, BJ Engelbrecht and Jurgen Meekel) facilitated a three-day creative programme resulting in a sound installation in the Events Space. Participants were invited to explore the soundscape of Maboneng by creating audio recordings of their experiences using mobile phones. By prompting the public and the local community to interact with the sounds of their environment, the project opened ears to new possibilities for experiencing the city. On Saturday 29 March, a listening session and discussion took place in the Less Good Lounge.

CREDITS

CONCEPTUALISERS | Jill Richards, BJ Engelbrecht & Jurgen Meekel (Playgroup)
SOUND ENGINEER | Thando Mpungose
STUDENTS FROM UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND | Mokgethwa Moraka, Ridovhona Netshishivhe, Lethabo Leputu, Albertina Matsinhe, Zafeera Mohammed, Nokubonga Nxumalo, Zamantungwa Zungu, Ilitha Nqoko, Imbaliyethu Tshatshelo, Oluchi Omeife, Mulamuli Qwabe, Lehlogonolo Mabitsi & Lesedi Magonare

Kugqityiwe

A site-specific performance by Qondiswa James, Kugqityiwe looks at the act of memorialising and bearing witness to life and death in the city. Drawing on fellow performers from The Unexpected City, James performed a public, symbolic burial in the streets of Maboneng.

CREDITS

CONCEPTUALISER & DIRECTOR | Qondiswa James
PERFORMERS | Nolwazi Mahlangu, Uvile Ximba, Melusi Mnqobi Molefe & Vuyokazi Ngemntu

Gauteng (For Ebenhaezer) on Fox StREET

In an attempt to invite the city into The Centre, and extend the activities of The Centre into the streets of Maboneng, The Unexpected City staged short performative vignettes from The Other Space — the dance studio and rehearsal space on the second floor of Arts on Main — facing Fox Street. These short performances, extracted from the performance programme, were performed to Centre audiences who had just arrived, as well as members of the public making the commute through the city, along Fox Street.

CREDITS

INSTALLATION | THE UNEXPECTED CITY

A collaboration between The Centre and The University of Johannesburg’s Graduate School of Architecture saw post-graduate architecture students from Unit 28 working alongside The Centre’s scenographer Nthabiseng Malaka to create responsive set and design elements. These formed part of the main scenography for Collation 3 as well an installation in the Events Space, capturing fragments of the city. During the three days of Collation 3, this installation also became the site of a sound-based installation, playing various city-based sounds and recordings.

CREDITS

SCENOGRAPHER | Nthabiseng Malaka
UNIT 28 CO-LEADS | Mxolisi Makhubo & Thandeka Mnguni
STUDENTS | Tshireletso Adams, Thandeka Cindi, Nadia Thato Chaka, Simbarashe Chinyanganya, Jo-Ann Fredericks, Lindokuhle Mbukushe, Mbalentle Mnotoza, Thembeka Mpolweni, Gregentia Pankratius, Charmaine Sibuyi & Lindokuhle Zuma

THE CENTRE

Selimathunzi

Written and directed by Balindile ka Ngcobo, Selimathunzi is about what it takes to navigate the physical and psychological landscapes of a city like Johannesburg as a woman.

CREDITS

WRITER & DIRECTOR | Balindile ka Ngcobo
CHOREOGRAPHER | Shanell Winlock-Pailman
PERFORMERS | Balindile ka Ngcobo, Hlengiwe Lushaba-Madlala, Peggy Mongoato Vuyokazi Ngemntu & Nolwazi Mahlangu
MUSICIANS | AusTebza, Anathi Conjwa & Nozipho Mnguni

Of Blessings and Spears

Written and directed by Jefferson Tshabalala, Of Blessings and Spears takes the form of a rap battle or cypher and sees the inherent performativity of language being put to work.

CREDITS

WRITER & DIRECTOR | Jefferson Tshabalala
CHOREOGRAPHER | Shanell Winlock-Pailman
PERFORMERS | Nolwazi Mahlangu, Peggy Mongoato, Qondiswa James, Vuyokazi Ngemntu, Hlengiwe Lushaba-Madlala, Uvile Ximba & Melusi Mnqobi Molefe
MUSICIANS | AusTebza, Anathi Conjwa & Nozipho Mnguni

Gauteng (For Ebenhaezer)

Written and directed by Melusi Mnqobi Molefe, with Qondiswa James, Gauteng (For Ebenhaezer) is a poetic lament and tribute to the changing face of Johannesburg’s inner-city, as well as the experiences of those who occupy the inner-city, move through it, and are influenced by its rhythms and realities.

CREDITS

Umthetho Awuvumi

Written by MoMo Matsunyane and directed by Jefferson Tshabalala, Umthetho Awuvumi follows the story of two of Johannesburg’s ubiquitous characters — the city’s many security guards.

CREDITS

THE UNEXPECTED TRIO

Originally conceptualised as a musical interlude and interpretation of each sketch-based performance, the trio of Anathi Conjwa, AusTebza, and Nozipho Mnguni grew into their own performance as part of The Unexpected City programme. This ‘Unexpected Trio’ became a musical translation of the myriad stories that emerge from a city like Johannesburg.

CREDITS

VOCALIST | Anathi Conjwa
PERCUSSIONIST | Nozipho Mnguni
BASSIST | AusTebza