During the forthcoming ‘Ouroboros’ season at the Baxter, audiences can look forward to several amazing events, before and after the shows.
From the Press Release: “There will be several special and exciting events taking place during the Tony-award-winning Handspring Puppet Company’s upcoming Ouroboros season at the Baxter Theatre from 1 to 11 June. These happenings kick-off with the Baxter’s popular Taste, Tweet and Theatre evening with Joubert-Tradauw Private Cellar and Fairhills Fairtrade Wines, happening at 18:30 in the foyer, prior to the first preview on Wednesday, 1 June. Prominent writers, bloggers, tweeters and personalities from the theatre and wine industries will gather at the preview of this highly anticipated production. Together with guests and patrons they will be encouraged to mingle, wine taste, and go online via their mobile phones and other devices to chat, tweet, podcast and update their Facebook pages and blogs before and after the show. Question & Answer sessions with Younge and the Ouroboros cast will take place in the theatre auditorium directly after the 20:15 performances on Saturday 4 June, Tuesday 7 June and Wednesday 8 June, from 21:30 till 22:00. After the 11:00 show on Tuesday 7 June, the Q&A session will be followed by a puppet demonstration by Janni and the cast. Handspring’s Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler will participate in the Q&A session on Saturday 4 June. Before the start of the Ouroboros performance on Thursday 9 June, there will be a screening of the fascinating film The Making of War Horse at 18:30, only for those who have purchased tickets to see the show at 20:15. A special feature on the building of the War Horse puppets by Clifford Bestall will also be shown. War Horse is the hugely successful National Theatre production that ran to great acclaim on London’s West End and is currently on the boards in New York, garnering countless accolades and prestigious awards. Ouroboros is inspired by the poetry of Billy Collins and is essentially a love story between a poet, Andre and a dancer, Nokobonisa. Entering a relationship these characters struggle to commit due to experiences in their past that make them afraid of intimate relationship. We are introduced to the characters as children. We see the young boy becoming afraid of emotion as he experiences his parents fighting. The young girl, separated from the old woman she loves, withdraws into the mythical world she feels safe in. As an adult he struggles to creatively express himself as he finds himself separated from his heart. She, in turn, dances passionately but struggles with her fear of separation and her anxiety about death. It is only through meeting each other that they are able to learn to trust and find the courage to commit. The production is played out in a series of interactions between the two main characters, represented as five versions of themselves from birth to death. In the beginning we seem to be following multiple stories or the stories of several members of a family. However, as the play progresses, it becomes clear that we are in fact, watching only two characters interacting both with the various aspects of themselves and of each other. As such the production forms a web of relationships capturing dynamics played out across the past present and future. Ouroboros is directed by 2010 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Theatre, Janni Younge, with master puppeteers Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler, marking their first the first collaboration since Younge joined the Handspring Puppet Company this year as Associate Director. It offers a swirling interaction of performers, exquisitely created puppets created by Handspring, filigree shadow work and Michael Clark’s animation and is set to original music by Neo Muyanga, with puppet dance choreography by Mamela Nyamza (2011 Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance). The 13 main puppets are manipulated by a superb cast comprising Jason Potgieter, Cindy Mkaza, Gabriel Marchand, Tali Cervati, Beren Belknap and 2007 Fleur du Cap Best Actress winner, Chuma Sopotela. Ouroboros runs at the Baxter Theatre from 1 to 11 June with ticket prices from R60 to R130 through Computicket or any Shoprite Checkers outlets countrywide. Follow the production on Facebook and Twitter at http://twitter.com/handspringcc or facebook.com/BaxterTheatre and twitter.com/BaxterTheatre.”
