From hip-hop to owl rehabilitation and master artists to cabaret, this year’s Umtiza Arts Festival in East London is set to be an exhilarating cultural mix.
Expect drama, jazz, opera, science, food, art, cabaret and more.
A high point of this year’s festival, from May 24 to 27, will be an exhibition of the prestigious De Beers Collection, which is housed at the University of Fort Hare in Alice and comprises about 50 works by black artists from the 1950s and 60s including George Pemba and Gerard Sekoto.
The third festival of its kind, the Umtiza is a collaboration between the Guild Theatre, Ann Bryant Art Gallery and East London Museum.
“We are targeting all East Londoners and have a hip-hop artist from New York called Malik, an Afrikaans drama called Klara Maas se Hart is Gebreek Ensomeer, which has been to KKNK, and Cape Town cabaret artist Cat Simoni with her show called Perfect Gentleman,” said Guild Theatre manager Zane Flanagan.
Highlights will be the ever-popular funnyman Marc Lottering, with one show of I’ve Never Met the Guptas and Nicholas Ellenbogen with his crowd-pulling latest madcap Raiders instalment called The Last Raiders of the Lost Crusade, while jazz legend Lulama Gawulana will collaborate with a mash trio from Durban on Friday night. Local entertainers will also take to the stage including the brother of theatre personality Kerry Hiles, Bryan Hiles, who will appear in Jakob, a tale about a boy who is ostracised because he is different.
“We also have other local talent in the form of Megan Francis who is back in a cabaret called A Song for You, who will be accompanied by Stirling High music teacher Jacques du Plessis on piano.”
A must-see for children will be the Grahamstown produced Gruffalo, which is being brought to East London by the National Arts Festival and which has toured all over the country.
Ann Bryant Art Gallery curator Leon du Preez said besides the highly anticipated De Beers Collection, which will be on exhibit in the main gallery from 6.30pm on Thursday, May 24 and will be up for a month, the gallery will also be the venue for the East London Fine Art Society’s Anything but Painting exhibition, which opens at the Coach House on Wednesday, May 23 at 6.30pm and coincides with the festival. East London Museum director Geraldine Morcom said entry to the museum and a programme of talks would be free on May 26 and 27.
She said talks would range from a talk about the battlefield cemeteries of the Western Front by former museum director Nancy Tietz, a presentation by Chris Pretorius about an owl rehabilitation initiative near Grahamstown, a speech by John Costello on the sardine run and a talk by principal museum scientist Kevin Cole on East Coast shipwrecks.
“We are also having a fashion show against the backdrop of yesteryear’s fashion in the costume gallery.”
The precinct of the Guild and museum will have a children’s circus, wine and Mexican tapas, a flea market and food stalls.
lFor a full programme, please see the Guild Theatre Facebook page. Bookings at Computicket. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Festival celebrates full cultural mix and more
Expect drama, jazz, opera, science, food, art, cabaret and more.
A high point of this year’s festival, from May 24 to 27, will be an exhibition of the prestigious De Beers Collection, which is housed at the University of Fort Hare in Alice and comprises about 50 works by black artists from the 1950s and 60s including George Pemba and Gerard Sekoto.
The third festival of its kind, the Umtiza is a collaboration between the Guild Theatre, Ann Bryant Art Gallery and East London Museum.
“We are targeting all East Londoners and have a hip-hop artist from New York called Malik, an Afrikaans drama called Klara Maas se Hart is Gebreek Ensomeer, which has been to KKNK, and Cape Town cabaret artist Cat Simoni with her show called Perfect Gentleman,” said Guild Theatre manager Zane Flanagan.
Highlights will be the ever-popular funnyman Marc Lottering, with one show of I’ve Never Met the Guptas and Nicholas Ellenbogen with his crowd-pulling latest madcap Raiders instalment called The Last Raiders of the Lost Crusade, while jazz legend Lulama Gawulana will collaborate with a mash trio from Durban on Friday night. Local entertainers will also take to the stage including the brother of theatre personality Kerry Hiles, Bryan Hiles, who will appear in Jakob, a tale about a boy who is ostracised because he is different.
“We also have other local talent in the form of Megan Francis who is back in a cabaret called A Song for You, who will be accompanied by Stirling High music teacher Jacques du Plessis on piano.”
A must-see for children will be the Grahamstown produced Gruffalo, which is being brought to East London by the National Arts Festival and which has toured all over the country.
Ann Bryant Art Gallery curator Leon du Preez said besides the highly anticipated De Beers Collection, which will be on exhibit in the main gallery from 6.30pm on Thursday, May 24 and will be up for a month, the gallery will also be the venue for the East London Fine Art Society’s Anything but Painting exhibition, which opens at the Coach House on Wednesday, May 23 at 6.30pm and coincides with the festival. East London Museum director Geraldine Morcom said entry to the museum and a programme of talks would be free on May 26 and 27.
She said talks would range from a talk about the battlefield cemeteries of the Western Front by former museum director Nancy Tietz, a presentation by Chris Pretorius about an owl rehabilitation initiative near Grahamstown, a speech by John Costello on the sardine run and a talk by principal museum scientist Kevin Cole on East Coast shipwrecks.
“We are also having a fashion show against the backdrop of yesteryear’s fashion in the costume gallery.”
The precinct of the Guild and museum will have a children’s circus, wine and Mexican tapas, a flea market and food stalls.
lFor a full programme, please see the Guild Theatre Facebook page. Bookings at Computicket. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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