Following the success of her Wrestling With Dawn production, last December, the much-applauded producer, playwright, performer, English literature and Bachelor of Arts major, Siphokazi Jonas, returns in 2016 with Around The Fire.
Her latest, highly anticipated, 90-minute stage production is set to rewrite a good few rulebooks, as each of her previous three works did before it.
“Around the fire” will be staged at Artscape on
Thursday, 31 March 2016 at 20:00 (once off)
Tickets range from R80 (discounts and block bookings) – R120
In December 2015 the UCT Master’s graduate, and former Queenstown local, captivated audiences with Wrestling With Dawn, her third challenging creative emersion, which was captured live to DVD. Since then Jonas has been hard at work on drafting her next chapter that is Around The Fire.
The entirely original South African script unfolds within a unique fusion of theatre, poetry and live music. Four women, all from very different backgrounds, Mbali, Faiza, Amber and Angel, find themselves sharing a makeshift fire on a rainy Cape Town evening. Brought together by unexpected circumstances, the four form a bond as fierce and fleeting as the fire. Mbali, the homeless guardian of the fire, and Eastern Cape ‘refugee’, liberates the stories that brought them together in an effort to understand her newfound place in a city that renders her invisible.
Jonas weaves all four characters together through dialogue and poetry with the live band playing an integral ‘fifth character’ in innovative modes of storytelling.
All the highly talented band members feed concepts into the melting point and herein lies the genesis of the work called “Around the Fire “
The production takes place as part of this year’s Artscape Spiritual Festival themed, “Healing Self – Healing Society”. Tickets are available at Computicket.
The cast
Nolan Africa, a Drama graduate from UCT, dabbled in theatre and television, briefly, before joining the educational theatre world, delivers director and set design. In 2013, he completed an honours degree in Drama Therapy at WITS.
With Jonas as producer and playwright, music composition and direction for Around The Fire fell to Sikhumbuzo Ndebele. As a Durban University of Technology jazz scholar, the songwriter, music composer and arranger has worked with the likes of Mthunzi Namba, Lindelani Mkhize, Nqubeko Mbatha and Sibongile Khumalo, amongst many others.
The balance of the cast sees UCT-trained guitarist Germaine Leonard, who was privileged enough to have Alvyn Dyers as his mentor, in the mix too. Today Leonard shares his talent with his peers through training, management, writing and recording in various guises.
Vocalist and much-applauded multi-instrumentalist Keanu Harker joins the powerhouse collective, having recently wrapped up performing as part of the Adam Small BeJazzed production.
The classically-trained pianist, jazz vocalist student and SAMRO Overseas Scholarship winner Zoe Modiga adds her voice to the ensemble, having performed at celebrated festivals such as the Aardklop Festival, Joy of Jazz and The Cape Town International Jazz Festival and shared stages with the likes of Gloria Bosman, Matthew Gold and Marcus Wyatt.
Keys and vocal support comes in the form of Josh Prinsloo, the2014 Music Experience’s Cape Town Folk ‘n Acoustic Music Festival competition winner. Singled-out and commended by David Kramer for possessing a “fresh sound” as an artist whose work contains a good balance between serious and comedic subject matter, Prinsloo’s shared stages with Die Antwoord, Kahn Morbee (The Parlotones), Prime Circle, Karen Zoid, aKing, Hemel Besem, Majozi and Albert Frost, amongst a host of others.
Bass guitar duty falls to actor, dancer, model and musician Rosco Roman. Besides representing South Africa for Hip-hop dancing in Germany, the film actor and accomplished Jazz Studies graduate from UCT Roman recently performed at the Mother City Live Music Festival 2015
Jason Skippers is the collective’s beat keeper. Drummer, composer, producer and songwriter too, Skippers cut his musical teeth more than a decade ago, playing music in His People Church, and he’s been playing there ever since. He’s kept time with Judith Sepuma, Louie Brtitz, Elvis Blue and many more.
More keys and beautiful voice is what Eden Myrrh Toohey brings to Around The Fire, feeding the eclectic mix with her alternative pop sensibility. The teacher and mentor completed an Access Certificate in Jazz Piano at Howard University, Durban, and is currently completing a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing, as well as working towards completing her Classical Piano Teaching Diploma with the Royal Schools of London.
Key performance date and ticket prices
Venue Artscape
· Thursday, 31 March 2016 at 20:00 (once off)
· Tickets range from R80 (discounts and block bookings) – R120 –Book at Computicket
For more information contact:
Triple M Entertainment
Martin Myers
E-mail: martmyers
Mobile: +27 83 448 4475
Martin Myers 
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