Cape Town - After its world premiere at the Augsburg State Theatre in Germany, Isingqala Samanzi/The Call of Water – a play about global water scarcity – is brought into the spotlight with its African debut at the Baxter Flipside.
The limited season of four performances runs from Thursday to Saturday at 8pm with a 6pm matinee on Saturday. The South African/German collaboration, presented by Staatstheater Augsburg in association with The Baxter, takes the audience on a journey with puppets handmade by the Cape Town-based Ukwanda Puppet Company.
Through a fascinating and poetic interweaving of play styles, languages and perspectives, audiences get to see the problem of global water scarcity from a different point of view.
Through a fascinating and poetic interweaving of play styles, languages and perspectives, a global picture of the problem of water scarcity emerge that allows audiences to look at a worldwide problem from a different point of view.
While the vital element has shaped urban architecture and history in Augsburg for centuries and is available in abundance, Cape Town and other parts of South Africa have suffered from drought.
The water-saving consequences drawn from this – to which the shortage in the Cape was overcome – are ground-breaking for the handling of this valuable resource in the 21st century, and this includes Europe.
“In this play, the world-famous fountain figures of the Augustus Fountain in Augsburg, Germany, meet Inkomo Yamanzi (the cow that brings water) and Roman deities meet ancestor worship,” the Baxter Theatre said.
Written by Andreas Hillger, it features six performers, three South Africans and three Germans – Sipho Ngxola, Thomas Prazak, Karoline Stegemann, Siphokazi Mpofu, Luyanda Nogodlwana, Franziska Rattay – and is directed by Dorothea Schroeder.
Puppet construction is by Ukwanda Puppets & Designs Art Collective with training by Craig Leo, music by Fabian Löbhard, lighting by Günter Zaworka, costumes by Marie Wildmann, set design by Luyanda Nogodlwana and dramaturgy by Kathrin Mergel and Sarah Mössner.
Tickets are R180 and R150 for group block bookings of 10 or more, students and senior citizens.Booking is via Webtickets at www.webtickets. co.za/baxtertheatre or at Pick n Pay stores.
For discounted block or schools’ bookings, charities or fundraisers, contact Carmen Kearns on email [email protected] or call 021 680 3993.
Cape Times