The Drama Factory is celebrating Women’s Month with a series of stage productions, music, comedy, dance and panel discussion, all presented by women for women.
The inaugural Women’s Month Festival – “Your Voice, Your Stage” runs at The Drama Factory from August 16-21.
Festival co-producer Faeron Wheeler and Sue Diepeveen, the owner of The Drama Factory, have been toying around with the idea of a festival for women, for many years.
“It’s been an idea that we’ve been kicking around for a while, but a festival takes a bit of work and time to put together. When lockdown restrictions started lifting, and there was some light at the end of the tunnel for the entertainment industry, we thought let’s do it this year and we’ve done it. And we’re very excited,” said Wheeler.
She said the idea for the festival was always to be female-centric stories.
“We wanted the production team to be largely made up of women. We wanted the stories to be about women, and women of all kinds, if you identify as female, then this is your place. This is your stage. This is your voice.
“And we both feel very strongly about the idea of women supporting women and we need to help raise each other up,” Wheeler said.
The festival will give women the opportunity to use their voices, tell their own stories and be heard.
“We need to hear each other’s stories because so much of a woman’s life we’re told to be quiet. We are generally told we should not be talking about things out in the open.
“We want the festival to be a very open, supportive space for different women to use their voices and be heard. We were delighted to receive applications from very talented producers, with some exciting shows available to mark our first festival.
“We are delighted to see our stage graced by so many talented women and are humbled by their fortitude to be making quality theatre in these challenging times,” added Diepeveen.
One of the highlights of the festival is Île, performed by Sophie Joans, and which comes hot off the heels of the National Arts Festival, where it received a prestigious Gold Standard Bank Ovation Award.
“Île“ follows the story of a young girl who goes to visit her ancestral home: Mauritius. What she thought would be a nostalgic trip to a tropical island to connect with her late grandfather and meet her extended family gets all too real as darker characters emerge from the undergrowth of the volcanic island.
Île is a heart-warming, hilarious story of coming-of-age, family feuds, and the insanity that happens when people stay in the same place for too long.
The line-up also includes “My Weight and Why I Carry It’, “The Shell Singer”, “Sassy Winter Classics” and “Insecure”.
Performed by Tasmin Sherman and directed by Ingrid Wylde, “My Weight and Why I Carry It” is one girl’s story about the most important piece of clothing in a young woman’s life: a bikini.
The play tells the tale of Vic and the events that led her to present herself in front of a strange audience, tackling tough subjects such as fatphobia, tenuous family relationships, and the ways that a simple piece of clothing can impact one's life so meaningfully.
“The Shell Singer”
The play explodes from a scream, “Where are you?” This cutting-edge piece reveals the psychosis of a shattered being. Denied the primal need to belong, her broken heart births a shell.
She uses its colours and sounds to re-create sweet and terrifying memories of the womb, and takes the audience on this bitter journey. Performed by Imke du Toit, it is written and directed by Marianna le Roux.
“Your Perfect Life”
A woman should have it all; a career and a family! But what if you don’t? Karlien and Caitlyn are at their 20-year reunion, bracing for the “What have you been up to?” questions. One has the family, the other the career.
Neither is sure they have what they want. “Your Perfect Life” is a poignant and funny look at how life can take unexpected turns and how society judges us for dealing with it the best way we can.
For the full programme and more information on the festival visit www.thedramafactory.co.za.
Meanwhile theatre across the country have curated an intriguing season of productions to commemorate Women’s Month.
Here’s what you can look forward to this month.
“Ruined” - staging at The Market Theatre, currently on until September 4.
Lynn Nottage’s “Ruined” is set in a small mining town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and follows the life of the tenacious Mama Nadi, a businesswoman who is trying to stay afloat in a world torn apart by civil war.
The war has ravaged her country, especially the young girls who have literally been torn to pieces by soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
Directed by Clive Mathibe, the show also serves as a tribute piece to the late Busi Lurayi, who was cast in the lead role in the production and stars Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala, Shoki Mmola and Fulu Mugovhani.
“Believe Her” - staging at Joburg Theatre from August 10-13.
“Believe Her” tackles issues of masculinity, patriarchy, and misogyny. The play also promotes women's empowerment, and gender equality while shedding light on victims of gender-based violence.
It follows the journey of five women who find themselves sharing their experiences about life in a hair salon. Discussing the lives of South African women regarding the brutal crimes against females and all the issues about women in our society.
While sharing their experiences they learn that they share similar struggles which proves that different women face the same problems.
“Four Fathers: Bananas for the Baboons” - staging at Baxter Theatre Centre, currently showing until August 20.
“Four Fathers: Bananas for the Baboons” explores black fatherhood and absent fathers in the country.
The play follows two young boys who are on a quest to find their father. The narrators of the play visit these three periods, to make sense of the current landscape and to learn from the past.
At the core, they discover that men are at the forefront of these battles, begging the question: where are the fathers? And how has colonialism, with its offspring of apartheid and migrant labour, contributed to the absence of black fathers?
“Durban City Orchestra” performing at St Agnes Church, Kloof on August 21.
Music-lovers are invited to an intimate spring afternoon concert in the company of the “Durban City Orchestra” (DCO) as they perform a magnificent programme of classic and romantic pieces.
The orchestra, one of the longest-running orchestras in the country, has a complement of approximately 30 active members who get together weekly. The orchestra includes two accomplished professional musicians, Charl van der Merwe as resident conductor and Jitske Brien as concert master.