A Conspiracy Of Clowns

 AUDITION NOTICE: Performer-Manipulator

Written by Lara Foot, and developed in collaboration with Leila Henriques, Brian Webber, and Joss Levine, Womb Tide was first performed to high acclaim in 1996.

At its heart, Womb Tide is an unconventional love story. Told through the memory of a child, Womb Tide is at once deeply moving, funny, dark, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive. Set in the mid to late twentieth century South Africa, it follows an eccentric and somewhat dysfunctional family through a story of love, loss and hope, and paints an impressionistic portrait of the complexities of family life.

More than just simply a remounting, Womb Tide is a complete overhaul of the original story, given FTH:K’s approach to creating fresh, startling, visually accessible work. Featuring a stellar crew of collaborators, Womb Tide is a paean to love and perseverance and a tour de force of visual and physical storytelling.

Directed by Rob Murray

Design by Craig Leo, Leila Anderson, and Emilie Starke

Sound Design by James Webb and Brydon Bolton

AUDITIONS (in the form of a workshop) will be held:

Date: Wednesday 28 April 2010

Venue: Arts Admin Theatre, Corner of Wesley and Milton Road, Observatory, Cape Town

Time: 09h00-12h00 (please arrive 08h30 to register)

We are casting for the character of the KID. In the play, the KID injects a chaotic energy into the lives of his mother and father that binds the family together closely. Participants need to be able to play both young and old, exhibit a youthful energy and the spirit of a clown. Participants should have experience of working within an ensemble-based, devised theatre process. Physical performance skill (mime/clown/physical theatre/movement) is a must, and experience in puppet manipulation a bonus, though not necessary.

Dress comfortably for a physical performance/puppet manipulation workshop.

Rehearsal Dates: May/June 2010

Performance Dates:

• 22 June – 7 July 2010 (National Arts Festival & National Schools’ Festival)
• 22 August – 27 September 2010 (Market Theatre, JHB)
• 28 September – 3 October 2010 (Aardklop, TBC)
• 8 November – 4 December 2010 (Baxter Theatre, Cape Town)

For more information, or to book your place, please contact Tanya Surtees on 021-448-2838 or email tink@fthk.co.za and send through an updated CV by Monday 26 April 2010.

Vluit-vluit doe storie’s uit!  Yep – Pictures of You gets 2 nods for the 2009 Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards: firstly, Janni Younge (who seems to be an awards magnet right now – rock on!) is nominated in the category for Best Props and/or Puppetry Design for the masks, and Rob Murray is nominated for Best Lighting Design.  We’re pretty stoked, as you can imagine, here at Conspiracy HQ, and look forward to the swanky gala affair on 21 March at the Baxter Theatre.  Keep ‘em crossed!

And, if that’s not enough, Janni is also nominated in the same category of Best Props and/or Puppetry Design for the masks for QUACK! and for the puppets in The Tempest. Seems like its her category this year!  How cool is that?  And how cool is it that visual theatre is finally getting the attention it deserves? Right on Fleur du Cap, and right on cape Town!

For a full list of all the nominations, check here at Artslink. Congratulations all for a bumper year and see y’all at the Awards Evening.

So, we’re a week down, half way already through the run (hectic how time flies…) and we’re entertaining, confusing, and enthralling people, which is not a bad mix.  Not that we set out to confuse, of course, but we are aware we’re making audiences work hard when watching, and particularly for some hearing people, a play with no dialogue whatsoever, and a rambling, dream-logic web of narratives is challenging and confusing.  When we sort that out we’ll have a truly explosive form of expression on our hands.

But people are responding incredibly well, with people finding the mix of comedy, tragedy, full character mask, and some sublime visual imagery, very satisfying and enriching.

And the reviews are starting to flow:

Artslink calls QUACK! “…pushing the boundaries of theatrical exploration.  Quirky, and interesting, the detail in the design is incredible…It really is poetry in motion.” For the full review, click here.

Bizcommunity writes: “…extraordinary masks…a very evocative soundscape, sometimes almost unbearable in intensity…Do yourself a favour. Get to Quack and be surprised, moved, freaked out and entertained.”  For the full review click here.

The Lifestyle Show gives it 4 stars and calls it: “A vivid facade of visual stimulation…touches one in a special place, leaving the show bookmarked in one’s mind for a very long time. It shan’t disappoint –whether you’re young or old, it will leave you thinking and spark many interesting conversations afterwards.” For the full review, click here.

There are 5 shows left this week – BOOK NOW if you haven’t already.  Tuesday night (our fast becoming legendary “Twos-days” - 2 for 1 special) is selling like hot things, and bookings are picking up for the whole week.  50 bucks gets you a mesmerising experience.  Bring a friend.  Share that experience.  Call 021 448 2838 for tickets and info.

Yep, it’s true.  In 7 days time we’ll be previewing our new version of QUACK! Excitement round here is hitting fever pitch, and we’re working flat out to make this an awesome experience for all audience members.  BOOK NOW on 021 4482838, or email clowns@fthk.co.za and watch this space for some incredible offers, deals, and other surprises.

This was cover page of The Argus Tonight – a great write up by Zane Henry.  To read the text, go here.

We’ve dusted off the masks (in fact, been tweaking them according to new ideas and received comments…and other thoughts), put up the set, digested all feedback (thanks, guys – you all rock…you know who you are), and are now hard at work developing QUACK! Mk 2, to be unleashed in Cape Town from 10-21 November this year at the Intimate.

The team has grown too.  We are going all out for this one, expanding the cast to 8 (yes, you read that right…eight on the Intimate stage…phew…) with hopefully Brydon playing live as well.  Which makes nine.  It’s gonna be intense.

So who else is on board?  Well, we are overjoyed to have scooped two great artists ion their own right.  Firstly, we have been joined by the inimitable Emilie Starke, fresh from the Lecoq School in Paris.  Coming with a passion for all things related with mask, non-verbal performance, and design, Emilie we hope will become a regular here at FTH:K.  Yep, watch this face for details…

And then we are overjoyed to include the marvellous, eccentric, and totally unique Jori Snell in our team.  Now we’ve known Jori a few years now…from a clowning workshop we were asked to run at UCT and Jori a mere few hours off the plane from Denmark was initially watching and then said the hell with this and plunged straight into our workshop…and, well, we’ve been friends ever since, and been meaning to work together for ages.  So here we are. 

The other 2 performers are Tomri Steyn and Christo Beukes, 2 young Deaf performers still at school and who wer hope to bring onboard FTH:K as trainees next year.  More about them later.  But they’re flippen excellent!

And away we go.  Keep an eye out for exciting news of special offers and exclusive events.  QUACK! drops in the next month, so time is short, but we’re comin’ at you, hot and heavy like a bass string quivering with delight at the sound it just made.

Ssh!  Don’t say a word.  Tell a soul…

So round here we’re gearing up to go the this year’s Witness Hilton Arts Festival in KZN.  We’ve enjoyed good successes at Hilton over the years, with shows like Water Pockets, GUMBO, and last year’s associated The Dog’s Bollocks. 

This year, the giant-killing Pictures of You is pulled out of its resting and back on a plane, with great excitement and anticipation.  We have 3 shows at the festival:

• Friday 18 September 13h30
• Saturday 19 September 12h30 – already SOLD OUT
• Sunday 20 September 10h00

All you good folk in KZN – come on down!  This is finally your chance to get to see Pictures on your home turf.

There’s quite an interesting line-up too, with Greig Coetzee coming out of theatre hibernation to revive his classics: White Men with Weapons, The Blue Period of Milton van der Spuy, and Johnnie Boskak is feeling funny. There’s also Kickstart’s Wit that I missed at NAF this year and apparently kicks ass with the sublime Clare Mortimer heading that one up.  Jenine Collecott’s High Diving is also on, which is awesome ‘cos I also missed that at NAF and it was regarded by many as the jewel of the festival.  What else?  Nick Pauling and Scott Sparrow journey with us from Cape Town with Zoo Story.  Why so little Cape Town stuff there this year?  Hmmm.  That’s not great.  There’s the deliciously obscene sounding Molly Bloom, with Jennifer Steyn headlining the adaptation of the last chapter of James Joyce’s Ulysses.  Also apparently a gem.  Oh oh oh, and a new piece by Sylvaine Strike – Pregnant Pause.  That’s always a treat and a look forward to, and good to have her back making theatre!  And lastly, the intriguing sounding Mariner’s Tale – a short ride through the classic poem told with puppets, mime, masks, music…in its own tent.  Sounds a bit like the delightful Alchemist’s Heart created by Jaqueline Dommisse and Peter Hayes a few year’s back.  But hey – intriguing nevertheless.

Will keep our adventures all up to date from here, the Conspiracy HQ.

I apologise upfront if this is blowing our own bent and buckled trumpet, but official word is out…Pictures of You was the highest grossing theatre production on the Fringe at Festival this year! 

And not only that, but 12th highest on the Fringe across all categories, clocking in healthily behind the comics and other comedies that routinely dominate sales.

Wow.  How do you like them apples?  That’s not bad for a scruffy little experimental show that started a year ago and showed a glimmer of promise, and then through a lot of good will, awesome support from a lot of awesome people, blessings from our parent company to go forth and conquer, and sheer determination, has found its way to the top. 

There’s still a lot to be said about Festival, and in the next few days we’ll hopefully wrap it up.  What has been amazing (and yes, “10 days of ama!zing” – well branded, guys) is that in the midst of a global recession, where everyone expected things to be really tough, live performance has come through so strongly.  Check out the official figures here.  A testament to the vital place of culture in our country’s well being, and a kick up the arse for all of us whingeing whining self-deprecating artists to back ourselves and keep pushing, and when times are hardest…we must get better.

A rallying call, methinks.

It’s a week of announcements, clearly.  Not only does Megan announce the imminent arrival of Noah of Cape Town, but at FTH:K we are proud to announce our latest venture – QUACK!

It is simply an exceptional team: on the performance front is Liezl de Kock (Pictures of You and GUMBO), Lysander Barends (GUMBO and Ek Roep vir Jou Vanaand), Taryn Bennett (Frogs and Dr Collinger’s Funeral Service), and Marlon Snyders (GUMBO and Ek Roep vir Jou Vanaand).  Masks are by Janni Younge who designed and made our excellent masks for Pictures of You).  Set and props are by Jesse Kramer (of Koos Sas, Ghoema!, The Kramer and Pieterson Songbook fame).  Costumes are by Leila Anderson (BeLongings and Isabella).  And the sound design is by the award-winning James Webb (of Pictures of You, Rump Steak, Orpheus, and…ooh, just about everything else).

And the whole shebang is produced by FTH:K which means that the hottest up and coming theatre manager, Tanya Surtees, is behind it all.

Yes. Stop right there. Read back and let those names wash over you again. Those are like your director’s wet dream, and I am the lucky, lucky director.

So what is QUACK!?

From the makers of Pictures of You and GUMBO comes a new venture into the unknown.

So many lies, so little time…welcome to the shadowy, clown noir world of QUACK!

In a world where everything is for sale, and nothing has any value anymore, an ambitious drifter, addicted to quick scams, dreams up his definitive deceit - his masterpiece of mendacity.  Enlisting the aid of his long-suffering partner, a quiet and melancholic woman, he sets his plan in action.

But lies have the habit of consuming the liar.  And karma is sometimes waiting just around the corner.  And then there are the ghosts and victims of a million failed scams and past misdeeds…

In a thrilling blend of physical and visual performance, infused with their signature approach to creating accessible, non-verbal performance, QUACK! is FTH:K upping the ante and boldly leaping out of the frying pan and into the pyre.

It’s a battle for the soul of humankind.  It’s a visceral, visual bombardment of the senses.

Listen with your eyes!

Step right up!

QUACK! drops 2 July 2009 in Gatstad.  Capetonians, hang onto your dominoes – you have a sneak preview that you’ll hear about in a little bit right here.

Set your clocks.  Set your minds.  Ssh!  Don’t say a word…tell a soul…the clowns are coming…

And with that, the curtain comes down on our Baxter season.  Time really just flew. It did. Now comes the inevitable post-production blues, the tying up, the weird energy at 5pm where you start thinking to get ready for the theatre, only…you don’t have to…

We’re still sifting through the data and analysing it all. But first up, our run saw:

• 18 evening performances
• 1 matinee (for a Deaf school)
• 5 SOLD OUT shows (and a handful very full)
• 3 post-performance discussions
• 1 pre-performance discussion
• 1 opening night event
• 1 “mingles night” event (will follow up on that one soon…interesting)
• 1 Baxter Student VIP Club event
• over 1700 people
• an average of 94 poeple per night (not the best, but ceratinly not shocking)
• new audiences, returning audiences, growing audiences
• a critical slam-dunk
• tears, laughter, standing ovations, confusion, heated debate, fiery opinions, and a small amount of controversy

On top of all of this, the show shifted and changed, and we developed and tweaked it as we went.  By the end, we’d shaved 8 minutes off it, rearranged some scenes, and fiddled with other stuff.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege. Thanks to all who came and supported and chatted and cared and engaged us in conversation.

All those who missed it…not to worry, we’ll be back. Or very soon, we might just be in your neighbourhood. Watch this face for details…SSH!

It has been an exhausting 2 weeks, and it’s really hard to think we now only have 5 performances left!  Crazy.

Will write more about the promised process that got waylaid due to time demands and things, and will also talk more about what and how we did at the Baxter.

In the meantime, responses, comments, critiques, and raves keep flooding in, which is really great.  Zane Henry’s Argus review is here.  Brent Mersman’s review for the M&G is here.  Peter Tromp’s review for Next 48hOURS is here.  And Astrid Stark’s review for The Sunday Independent is here.  They’re all interesting reads.

5 more shows.  Tonight, as yesterday, sold out.  Tickets flying out the door fast.

What a trip!