Comments for Out The Box Festival

Comment on High Diving by Louis Barata

Louis Barata — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:07:20 +0000

Thanks a lot for the info, Jenine! And my congrats to the Andrew Ord and Nick Warren! Very cool music wonderfully setting the ambiance for the wonderful overall performance! Can only hope to, one day, lay my hands on the CD or the DVD!

Louis

Comment on SOUTH AFRICAN SHORTS by Yazeed Kamaldien

Yazeed Kamaldien — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:24:20 +0000

MOVING THINGS MOVE AUDIENCES
Written by Yazeed Kamaldien
Puppetry was not limited only to theatre stages at this year’s Out The Box Festival of Puppetry & Visual Performance but also appeared either as performance or subject in a line-up of films.
The Moving Things Film Festival gathered stories on screen predominantly from South Africa and Latin America. These films were screened daily for the festival’s duration at the Labia cinema of Orange Street in Gardens.
There were films for all ages; some were cheery while others carried a heavy dose of angst to question some big issues.
A highlight for the festival’s organisers Unima SA were five short films that resulted from stop-frame animation workshops that it ran late last year. These films were made by creative industry professionals who had experimented with this medium for the first time. Fairly light-weight storytelling prevailed as the focus seemed to be more on techniques of animating paper, clay, found objects and fabric. Unima SA, the South African Association of Puppetry and Visual Performance, plans to run these short workshops again this year and information will be up on its website.
More advanced South African stop-frame animation films also featured. ‘My City’ was a 15-minute film directed by Luke Younge and it fused live action with white chalk drawings on a school board. It was set in a classroom and informed on South Africa’s climate change challenges.
The actor – a young high school girl – enthusiastically talked about finding solutions to the energy problems while witty chalk drawings created accessible visuals for her presentation.
Another clever energy-related film was ‘Plug Out Boy’ by Ricky Martin – not the former pop singer – about a “non-power trip to Plug Out everything that shouldn’t be on”.
Most of the South African short films carried social messaging. This included ‘Stop It’ which was a public service announcement “aimed at creating awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving”.
Director Robyn Yannoukos explored darker themes with his award-winning four-minute film ‘Alice’s Attic’. It featured a “fragile character who attempts to deal with her fears in an unexpected way”. The detail and complexity of the animation was gripping and just plain grand to marvel at.
‘Human Nature Trilogy’ directed by Kerrin Kokot lightened up the cinema’s atmosphere though as it elicited chuckles. Kokot used clothing to tell stories of sensational suggestion and flirtation in sometimes awkward public spaces.
The Hispano-America Shorts Collection showed films from Mexico and Spain. Mexican artists said their work was inspired by “desires, dreams, frustrations, miracles and divine beings with a dark organic aesthetic”. Metaphors and symbols on screen unpacked a compelling visual world that was complex in design and story.
One of the gems from this short films selection was the four-minute music video ‘No Corras…

Comment on Tranquila by Astrid Stark

Astrid Stark — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:02:55 +0000

What a wacked-out peculiar piece!
The actors babble away in Spanish and it’s this language barrier that frees up the performance for personal interpretation. The doctors that are trying to save a woman’s life wear baby pink mini dresses and white stockings and are just hysterical. At one point the woman’s legs turn into tree trunks with leaves growing out of them which the concerned nurse water regularly. There is a dual between death and a very sexy but clown-like Romeo slash Don Quixote character. The music is haunting and enchanting. At one point the woman appears to be losing her battle with death and she transcends from her bed by rope and stares down at herself being worked over by the doctors; beautiful metaphor for an out of body experience. Tossed in as a delicious distraction is paediatrician with a puppet obsession, circus acts, lectures on the workings of the brain and a pythonesque philosophical ranting about the meaning of life. It’s is a completely mesmerising, expertly performed, fresh and sexy piece of theatre. And apparently its based on a true story.

Comment on (Eu) peca de terra-II by edward cullen

edward cullen — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:35:49 +0000

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Comment on Taxi Magic by Joan Cowen

Joan Cowen — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:43:30 +0000

Could it not be longer. What you showed us was great, but not enough

Comment on Canterbury Tales by Chris Sepp

Chris Sepp — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:42:16 +0000

I liked the story. South African, puppets

Comment on Canterbury Tales by Dorien Luttig

Dorien Luttig — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:40:35 +0000

Entertaining, thank you

Comment on Man Turn Life Up and Down by Simona Mosala

Simona Mosala — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:38:05 +0000

In 2010 old says still apply. Your play can be summarised as:
Ubulle ben doda, zinkhomozayo sunalibali amantombasana. Get the women to say this for you

Comment on Man Turn Life Up and Down by Lungelo Simelane

Lungelo Simelane — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:37:23 +0000

It thought about a different of perspectives of women & men & things around us, of which we live around and yet not perceiving them in that way. But awesome show after 5 years of not attending

Comment on Man Turn Life Up and Down by Ronell Swartbooi

Ronell Swartbooi — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:36:44 +0000

Great script! Great cast! Great set!