Artscape Theatre to Present SPIRITUAL FESTIVAL in Cape Town

Artscape is set to present the much awaited Spiritual Festival from 11 March - 2 April 2016. This year's theme is Healing Self and Healing Society, one that recognises the wounds in society and the magical powers of performances and storytelling to heal those wounds.

Initiated in 2015, the Artscape Spiritual Festival is a platform through which theatre practitioners and directors are able to interpret spirituality and religious practices by sharing personal narratives and collective memory. By drawing audiences into the transformative performance spaces in which spiritual practices take place, the Artscape Spiritual Festival allows artists and audience to interact through music, dance, poetry, monologues, storytelling, performance art and site-specific installations. In this way, through particular ?expressions of spirituality, audiences can be drawn closer to an understanding of our spiritual diversity and religious practices.

Spirituality and religious practices in the African context remain a dominant and central part of contemporary life. The artists that participate in the Artscape Spiritual Festival draw inspirations from the complexities of these practices, which are a reflection of South Africa's diverse society. It is in the commonalities that these practices share, through performance, story-telling, and creative expression, that similar religious and spiritual aesthetics may be found. Mandla Mbothwe, the Creative Manager for Artscape Theatre and the Spiritual Festival Director, comments:

Theatre and performance spaces remain hugely separated from the praising and praying spaces. Among other things, the Artscape Spiritual Festival attempts to reduce this distance, to resuscitate the relationship, to inspire the exploration of our society through these spiritual and religious practices both in content and in aesthetics. We embrace these drive sites through encouraging interdisciplinary representation of various identities and their practices through creative presentations.

The Artscape Spiritual Festival will offer three free events to the public. An exhibition of art displays and installations is on view from 18 March - 2 April and the launch of Gang Star Enterprise, a social enterprise venture that aims to give employment and mentorship to ex-offenders, ex-gangsters and troubled youth, will take place on 31 March at 14:30 and 17:30. The Sibonelo Dance Project will host an outdoor dance class for people of all ages on 2 April at 09:00, during which the trained and experienced facilitators will share their knowledge and skills in creative movement, body coordination, African dance, modern dance and contemporary dance.

Several key performances form part of the programme of the Artscape Spiritual Festival. Tickets for these events range from R40 - R200, with bookings open through Computicket.

A double bill of MBUZENI and THE GIRLS will be performed from 11 - 21 March, with performances taking place at 19:30 on Tuesdays through Saturdays as well as at 15:00 on Sundays.

MBUZENI tells the story of four little girl orphans and their fixation with the dead. The story takes place in a tiny village. The only cemetery that exists separates the villagers from the orphans' dwelling. Here, there are rules and regulations for how to conduct burials, rules which are monitored and constantly reinforced. The girls continue to defy these rules and their defiance comes at a price, one they are made to pay. THE GIRLS is an international award-winner, having won awards in Europe, Uganda and at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

THE GIRLS deals with the real-life abduction of 149 schoolgirls in the north of Uganda by a rebel army, the LRA, under the leadership of Joseph Kony. One of the abducted girls and one of the child solders escape and try to find their way back home. When, in 2014, schoolgirls were again abducted in Nigeria by Boko Haram, the producers of THE GIRLS realised that nothing had changed and that nothing will change unless the real stories of those who are affected are brought to life on stage. This is what THE GIRLS does.

A BROKEN WING will be performed on 23 March 2016 at 19:30. This production brings to life the profound stories of two women, who have both gone through the experience of painful divorces. Coming from different provinces, backgrounds, cultural groups and religious backgrounds, the women meet under the strangest of circumstances to discover what they have in common: they both have been badly hurt, they are lost and each is raising three children. Through theatre and music, Ntsiki Sigege and Mabongi Thusi tell stories about pain, the journey towards healing, and moving on, promising to deliver a rich and compelling source of inspiration for women and men who find themselves at a turning point in their lives, where hope is lost. Adapted from Sigege's book of the same name, the monologues are accompanied by music from Mabongi Thusi and The Oak and will also feature South African acclaimed and well-known maskandi musician, Mfiliseni ka Mangubane.

GOSPEL MEETS JAZZ will be a fun-filled fusion of those music styles, accompanied by inspirational poetry, provocative drama and motivational speaking. Taking place on 27 March at 15:40, this theme of this performance is the healing of the personal, spiritual and social aspects of the soul. Bongi and Collin Damans, Titi Luzipho, Zoe Modiga, The Psamilsts, Vocal Family, Siphokazi Jonas and the DFG Praise & Worship Band will deliver soulful renditions of Gospel Jazz standards, while speaker Dr David Molapo will spread a message of hope using his trademark combination of humour and inspiration. The ultimate goal? To perpetuate the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the transformation and salvation of lives.

AROUND THE FIRE (31 March at 20:00) is a unique fusion of theatre, poetry and live music that tells a uniquely South African story. Four women with very different backgrounds, Mbali, Faiza, Amber and Angel, find themselves sharing a makeshift fire on a rainy Cape Town evening. Brought together by unexpected circumstances, they form a bond as fierce and temporary as the fire. Mbali, the homeless guardian of the fire and an Eastern Cape 'refugee', unravels the stories that brought them there, trying to make sense of her own place in a city that renders her invisible.

PALEHO, which will take place on 29 and 30 March at 15:00 and 19:30, is a story inspired by the history and heritage of the Basotho nation. This musical show shares the experiences of a young girl who is on a quest to discover her personal identity, forced by circumstance to know and understand her roots. Finding herself in an initiation school, her journey is accompanied by music and dance. Despite the humanity of the people that surrounds her, her journey to inherit and reclaim her heritage is characterised by bad luck, betrayal and deceit. She is caught between religion and tradition in a world where forces that seem too great for her to conquer appear to nullify her existence. PALEHO aims to educate society about self-respect, social responsibilities, hard work, commitment and perseverance, and to address issues of religion and tradition. Written and composed in pure Sesotho, the production carries with pride the indigenous language of the Basotho. Audiences will be able to follow the show even if they do not speak Sesotho, as the images in the show, the music, the dancing and the theme the morals of womanhood are accessible to all.

DIE WOORDE (AMAZWI) is a musical, poetry and dance production on 2 April at 11:00. Seeking to celebrate the individual spiritual journeys of multiple religious practices, DIE WOORDE is an exhibition of spiritual expressions presented in five- to ten-minute interdisciplinary creative expressions. Consisting of colourful episodes and personal narratives, the production will also include exhibitions by various visual artists. DIE WOORDE (AMAZWI) is directed by Mandla Mbothwe, working with various choreographers.

Three seminars will also be presented at the Artscape Spiritual Festival.

"It Takes Two to Tango" (21 March 2016 at 14:00) is a seminar tailor-made to empower married couples towards achieving successful marriages and healthy families. The facilitators, Drs David and Mamikie Molapo, are educationists, top management and leadership consultants and motivational speakers who use a combination of humour and practical tools aimed at inspiring and guiding people to change their lives and those around them. The teachings of the Molapos are based on Christian principles.

The "Educationist Leadership Empowerment" seminar (23 March at 14:00) for school management teams will also be presented by the Molapos. This seminar will be impart, from a Christian perspective, inspirational and edifying messages of growth and development and strategies for coping with the challenges facing specifically educationists in management positions.

Finally, "Defining Manhood in Our Times" (26 March at 13:00) is a men's brunch seminar that will see Dr David Molapo address critical issues aimed towards the definition and identity of "manhood" in our society. This seminar is a topical dialogue session aimed at reaching an audience from all walks of life with a message of hope. Through this seminar, men will be able to gain a better understanding of their identity, their role in society and a "360-degree" perspective of their lives and those around them.

The Artscape Spititual Festival will close with a live DVD recording of Chumani Ngojo and Nu Praize on 2 April at 19:00. A must-see event presented by one of the leading gospel ensembles in the Western Cape, these amazing and excellent artists will bless the audience with their divine music presentation. Khayelitsha native Ngojo is a songwriter of considerable depth and insight, and Nu Praize is a spirit-filled ensemble of vocalists that knows how to get worshippers on their feet rejoicing. As seen on their latest And that's just what they do on their latest album, WE PRAISE, representing more than just new music for the group: it is the start of a movement, and Ngojo is happy to lead the way.

Most of these newly created work gets to be further developed and some get to travel in other spaces of our communities. Following the success of the first Artscape Spiritual Festival in 2015, the 2016 festival promises to be even more exciting and inspiring.

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