The International Coproduction Fund of the Goethe-Institut is proud to have supported the creation of The Visitors, a new work by renowned international choreographer/director Constanza Macras, which will premiere at the Cradle of Creativity Festival at The Market Theatre on 20 August.
The Visitors - Cradle of Creativity:
- 20 Aug 2023 19:30
- 21 Aug 2023 12:00
The Visitors is a coproduction between the Windybrow Centre for the Arts and German-based dance company Constanza Macras / Dorky Park. The work was created in July and August a the Windybrow Centre for the Arts. This project was made possible by a grant from the International Coproduction Fund of the Goethe-Institut, and opens on 20 August at the Market Theatre as part of the Cradle of Creativity festival, presented by ASSITEJ, the intrnational association for theatre for children and young people.
The Visitors continues a collaboration between Dorky Park and many of the young South African cast members of her successful production Hillbrowfication. In The Visitors, they dive into the fascinating world of slasher movies, a sub-genre of horror cinema in which teenagers are threatened and killed, while their parents and other adult figures are absent. Time and again the young ones must deal with the monsters on their own.
Re-elaborating on the codes and aesthetics of the genre in the specific context of post-apartheid South Africa, The Visitors touches on themes such as the state orchestrated destruction of family structures during apartheid times, and the persistence of a colonial legacy of bureaucracy and corruption that still disrupts daily life. But if the relentless return of the past is a characteristic trait of slasher cinema, so is the youthful protagonists search for tangent narratives out of it as they fiercely fight the monsters away.
The powerhouse creative team includes Spoek Mathambo composing, Tamara Saphir as Dramaturge, Sibongile Fisher as dramaturgical advisor, Thando Lobese designing the set, Roman Handt as Costume Designer, Sérgio Pessanha as Lighting Designer, and Stephan Worhman as Sound Designer. Dorky Park dancers Miki Shoji, Emil Bordás, Thulani Mgidi and Alexandra Bodí as well as the South African performer and musician John Sithole, are joined by participants from the Windybrow’s after-school programme and selected young artists from Hillbrowfication.
Joburgers will get to see this international co-production first before it travels to Germany.
Supported by the Goethe International Coproduction Fund (Internationale Koproduktionsfonds) of the Goethe-Intitut, it goes on to perform at the Ruhrtriennale Festival of the Arts, Volksbühne, Berlin and Kampnagel, Hamburg in September.
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