THE FALL Returns to the Baxter for Youth Month this June

Following its unprecedented sold-out success last year, THE FALL will return to the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio during youth month. THE FALL is a candid collaborative piece of workshop theatre based on the experiences of seven UCT graduates during the #RhodesMustFall and subsequent student movements, facilitated by Clare Stopford and curated by two members of the collective, Ameera Conrad and Thando Mangcu.

The vibrant cast comprises Conrad (DON'T SHOOT THE HARBINGER, PEOPLE BENEATH OUR FEET), Oarabile Ditsele (IDENTIRRHAGING, WOZA ALBERT!), Tankiso Mamabolo (NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, FABULOUS NOTHING), Mangcu (DON'T SHOOT THE HARBINGER , THE SHIPMENT), Sizwesandile Mnisi (CONNECTION TO HOME, WOZA ALBERT!), Sihle Mnqwazana (IDENTIRRHAGING, MY CHILDREN! My AFRICA!) and Cleo Raatus (SCENES FROM AN EXECUTION, DISTRICT SIX - KANALA).

THE FALL remains vitally relevant given the ongoing discourse at tertiary institutions across South Africa. The production adds its voice to the national and global debate and youth-led revolutions against injustice and inequality in education, cultural representation and many other current struggles.

The mass student movement (and those that followed throughout 2016 in South Africa) sparked worldwide discourse and action. The production seeks to address all forms of discrimination, tackling bluntly social categories such as race, class and gender, as well as the ideas of patriarchy and sexism - each of these themes at the centre of universal conversations and tragedies rife in today's society.

THE FALL wishes to bridge the generational gap between the perspective, attitudes and motivations of the current generation and that of the older generation on contemporary issues such as colonisation, sexuality and racial discrimination. The play also aims to review the gains made and the developments that have occurred as a result of the student rallies. While the play does not offer solutions to the questions raised by the movements, it hopes to create and nurture dialogue on the intersectional and institutionalised discrimination against the marginalised.

Particularly significant during youth month, THE FALL project began after the run of Barney Simon's BLACK DOG/INJ'EMNYAMA, which tells the story of students in the 1976 uprisings, at the Baxter Flipside and Hiddingh Campus in 2015. It inspired the notion of reflecting on the lives of people of colour in 2016. The project begged the question "If we can tell a story about 1976 so adequately, why can't we tell a story about ourselves, now, in 2016?" and thus emerged as a healing process from the experience of reviving Simon's play.

The set design for THE FALL is by the acclaimed Patrick Curtis, with lighting design by Luyanda Somkhence and costume design by Marisa Steenkamp.

THE FALL opens on 8 June and runs until 24 June at 19:00 nightly, with Saturday matinees at 14:30 on 10, 17 and 24 June. There is an age restriction of 16 years. Tickets cost R130 on Mondays through Thursdays and R150 on Fridays and Saturdays. There is a student special of R100 on presentation of a valid student identity card, with University of Cape Town students qualifying for R49 tickets - both only available at the Baxter box office. There is also an early bird special of R60, available for bookings made by 31 May 2017. Tickets can be booked online through Computicket, by phone on 0861 915 8000 or in person at any Shoprite or Checkers outlet. For corporate, block or school bookings, charities and fundraisers, contact Sharon Ward on 021 680 3962 or Carmen Kearns on 021 680 3993.

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