Photo Flash: Three Baxter-Zabalaza Collaborations on Stage at Inaugural Cape Town Fringe Festival

Three dynamically different award-winning productions from the Baxter Theatre Centre and the Zabalaza Theatre Festival will be showcased at this year''s inaugural Cape Town Fringe Festival from 27 September to 4 October with three performances each. The highly acclaimed THE CHAMPION and the hit production SECRET FLAMES will both be seen at the Galloway Theatre, while WORST OF BOTH WORLDS will be performed at City Hall 3. Check out production photos below!

The powerful and moving story of THE CHAMPION, winner of the 2014 Zabalaza Theatre Festival Best Production award, is written and performed by Khayalethu Anthony and directed by Khayalethu Mofu. The one-hander, performed mainly in English with some Xhosa, tells the story of a young man who grows up without the presence of his biological father. As he grapples with the legacy of an absent father and a mother who is a grass widow, he witnesses different men coming in and out of their lives. Much of the play focuses on the conflicts and contradictions inherent in him and the insights delivered about his mother''s life choices. Anthony, who received the 2014 Brett Goldin Award for Best Newcomer/Breakthrough at the Naledi Awards for his performance in Lara Foot''s acclaimed SOLOMON AND MARION, certainly made his mark at the highly popular Zabalaza Festival in March. THE CHAMPION also received the Best Script accolade and Anthony was named Most Outstanding Artist. THE CHAMPION, will be staged at the Galloway Theatre at the Waterfront Theatre School on 27 September at 2pm, 28 September at 4pm and 29 September at 7pm. Following its performances at the Cape Town Fringe, the play will transfer to the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio for a short season from 30 September to 8 October at 7pm nightly, with matinee performances at 11am on 30 September and 2 October, and at 2pm on 4 October. There is an age restriction of 14 years.

SECRET FLAMES was another hit at this year''s Zabalaza Theatre Festival. Devised by the cast, Asiphe Lili, Sisipho Mbopha and Thulisa Mayalo, and directed by Sisipho Mbopha, the dynamic family drama focuses on two sisters who are held back by their past as they struggle with themselves, with each other and with life. They feel that they are unable to live their lives to their full potential. The only person who can set them free of this dilemma is their mother, who carries with her burning secrets which are the cause of the family''s unhappiness. She, however, is afraid that, once these secrets are revealed, her daughters will be irrecoverably hurt. Director Sisipho Mbopha received the 2014 Zabalaza Theatre Festival award for Best Newcomer for Directing. SECRET FLAMES will be performed at the Galloway Theatre on 30 September at 3pm, 1 October at 7pm and 3 October at 11am.

WORST OF BOTH WORLDS, the 2012 Best of the Baxter''s Zabalaza Theatre Festival, written and directed by Bulelani Mabutyana, will take to the stage at City Hall 3. Featuring Thando Tsuselo and Lubabalo Nontwana, this cleverly-crafted two-hander played to great acclaim at the Baxter when it premiered. Performed in English and Xhosa, the play tackles the issue of human child trafficking head-on, using a unique and fresh style of physical theatre combined with strong elements of storytelling. The narrative deals with the journey of a girl who is abducted and trafficked at a young age, having to grow up under the slavery of prostitution and its implications on her life. Performances of WORST OF BOTH WORLDS take place on on 29 September at 11am, 30 September at 1pm and 2 October at 3pm.

Fringe Festival Tickets for THE CHAMPION, SECRET FLAMES and WORST OF BOTH WORLDS cost R70 each. Bookings can be made online at www.capetownfringe.co.za, through the call centre on 086 000 2004 or through the Fringe Box Office which will be open at the City Hall from 23 September. Tickets cost just R30 for block-bookings of 10 or more, charities, fundraisers, schools and corporate bookings, and these can be made by contacting Monica Skota on 021 685 7880 (ext. 222) or monica.skota@uct.ac.za or Ziyanda Mxcokozeli on 021 680 3980 or ziyanda.mxcolozeli@uct.ac.za.