Spier in association with Third World Bunfight, presents the second event of Constellations, a multi-layered outdoor presentation that will take place along the banks of Eerste Rivier from November 25 – December 18, 2021.
Theatre maker Brett Bailey who recently returned from a successful tour to France and Spain with Third World Bunfight’s acclaimed production of SAMSON, has once again devised and conceptualised Constellations with this year’s theme being ‘Into the Woods’.
Bailey describes how forests and wild places feature in mythology and tales of many people, often presented as strange liminal regions beyond ordered familiarity and civil society’s codes.
“Take Goldilocks and Hansel and Gretel for instance”, he says. “Such tales confront weird and wonderful characters while in Xhosa folklore, wilderness creatures loom along the fragile boundaries that define the homestead. Also, woods are often associated with dreams, imagination and the unconscious arena, and from the eco perspective, they are cherished as wildlife havens that need to be treasured and protected.”
The riverside woodland setting makes Spier, a destination committed to the arts, long term sustainability and biodiversity, the ideal location for the event.
Twenty-seven artists – the Fire Guardians- will present at Constellations. They are musicians Odwa Bongo, Manu Grace, Moodship, FreeMan locs, Jak Tomas, Nkosenathi Koela, Thandeka Mfinyongo, Miles Sievwright and Dizu Plaatjies.
Performance artists Nwabisa Plaatjie, Gaetan Schmid, Thando Doni, Rehane Abrahams, Qondiswa James, Wessel Pretorius, Nico Athene, Siphenathi Mayekiso, Louise Westerhout, Megan Choritz and Odidi Mfenyana and poets and storytellers Philippa Kabali-Kagwa, Liza Scholtz, Malika Ndlovu and Toni Giselle Stuart, and mystics and mavericks Rod Suskin, Lindi Dlamini and Tapiwa Gurza.
Bailey again adopts a non-directorial approach and has curated three routes, each with three Guardians who will receive their audiences around their own campfire. The element of surprise is that people will have no idea which Guardians or what type of performance they’ll encounter on their journey.
Each session will be approximately thirty minutes long and will take on a variety of forms be it interactive, presentational or meditational, whatever each artist feels best represents his or her ‘Into the Woods’ interpretation.
Constellations provides an opportunity to connect with others through these encounters while sitting around a fire. It is a sensorial, cultural encounter with strangers and nature, aimed to enchant. “Spectators will return to the city with the smell of smoke in their clothes, their souls enriched and their imaginations expanded”, adds Bailey.
As always, COVID-19 precautions will be upheld with sanitising, social distancing and small groups moving about in safety. Spectators are encouraged to wear warm clothing and comfortable walking shoes.
- When: 25 November – December 18 (Thursdays – Saturdays)
- Time: 8pm
- Ticket price: 180 per person, including a glass of Spier wine on arrive
Picnic tickets cost from R500 – R850 per couple with arrival times at 6pm for the mini picnic and 6:30pm for the sunset picnic. In line with COVID-19 restrictions, advance booking is required and limited seats are available via Webtickets: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=1508473264.
A 30% accommodation discount at the Spier Hotel is also available to ticket holders who can claim the offer by booking online with the code constellations
For more info please visit www.spier.co.za and www.thirdworldbunfight.co.za.
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Picture/s: Supplied