The Market Theatre Announces Upcoming Shows Thru December 2010

The Market Theatre has announced its upcoming productions and events thru December 2010.

FNB Dance Umbrella 2010
presented by First National Bank in association with the National Arts Council and The Market Theatre,
will run from 27 February to 14 March 2010 with performances at various Johannesburg theatres, the Wits Theatre complex in Braamfontein, the UJ Centre for the Arts in Auckland Park, and The Dance Factory, The Market Theatre Main Theatre and the Barney Simon Theatre in Newtown.

Works that will be presented at the Market Theatre includes:

Black!... White?
by Nelisiwe Xaba
2 & 3 March 2010
Main Theatre
Time: 20h30
This work explores the themes of racial and social stereotyping and how these distort people's perceptions of one another. The issues are explored using the socio-economic climate of present-day South Africa as the setting for the narrative, keeping in mind that stereotyping and discrimination are not exclusively South African phenomena, but are universal. At present, discrimination is still rife in South Africa although the criterion has shifted from race, to class and economic power. The performance will ask the question of whether we benefit from focusing on what makes people different from one another - how do our interactions change when we begin to see our similarities or when we are forced on to an equal standing through circumstances beyond our control?

"elev(i)ate"
by choreographer Athena Mazarakis and digital artist Tegan Bristow
3 & 4 March 2010
Market Theatre Foyer

Mazarakis and Bristow have worked together on two previous projects, Coming To (2007) and Chalk vision (2007) and wish to further their collaboration between the moving body and a digital arts interface in this new project "elev(i)ate" explores the possibility of an unmediated, direct and intimate meeting between members of a dance audience and a dance work. As a performer within the installation, Mazarakis invites an interaction with members of the audience and explores the poetic value of a simple dance 'lift' as the currency of exchange within this meeting.

Konexion
choreographed by. Wanted Posse and Indigene Dance Company
5 & 6 March at 20h30
7 March at 14h30
Main Theatre

With the 21st century bringing exchange and missing, Konexion is an appropriate creation which illustrates the result of a dialogue between cultures; a conversation where everyone has something to say and a gesture to share. Whether its break dance or gumboots, house or Pantsula, Hip Hop or Kwaito, what emerges from this is a fraternal dialogue between bodies converging in the same direction. Konexion was created after a 15- day residency in Johannesburg with Soweto-based company The Jerry Zenzile Dance Academy.

Asymptote
Choreographed by Frauke and Orlando
9 & 10 March at 20h00
Barney Simon Theatre

Asymptote is an Ankoku Butoh dance that explores the materiality of the body and its relationship to the natural world. This avant-garde Japanese dance form has inspired, mainly through its originating spirit Tatsumi Hijikata and his principal performer Yoko Ashikawa, a seemingly inexhaustible exploration into the realm of body consciousness. Asymptote is a butoh dance that celebrates our physical materiality, a world in which the individual is infinitely connected to the elemental, mathematical, and patterned nature of our ecosystem.

Double Bill
Umfula Wa Ma Dada
by Dada Masilo
and
Indlela by Luyanda Sidiya
9, 10 & 11 March at 20h15
Main Theatre Umfula Wa Ma Dada is a work Dada Masilo created in residency in Israel and Indlela by Luyanda Sidiya which is inspired by the different paths we take to find ourselves as human beings.

Reunion-based choreographer Eric Languet will present a work called Faux Ciels (Fake Skies) at the Barney Simon Theatre on March 12 and 13 at 18:30, 19:30 and 20:30. This work is an interactive work with an audience and will look at what can and cannot be said through dance. A minimum of 10 people will be allowed at each performance. Please book your seats for this performance by phoning 011 492 0709.

A new untitled work
by Sbonakaliso Ndaba
12 & 13 March at 20h15
14 March at 15h00

Sbonakaliso Ndaba created this new work at Cape Town's celebrated Jazzart Dance Theatre company. The idea for this work was inspired by a programme seen on 3rd Degree that dealt with illegal mineworkers. How far does one go in terms of searching for what will allow us to take the next breath, in order for us to simply survive? Some people are prepared to go into mine shafts six storeys underground; enter the mine gates illegally and pay security guards thousands of Rands to do so.

The FNB Dance Umbrella 2010 has been made possible with assistance from First National Bank and the National Arts Council. Other partners include The Market Theatre; The French Institute of South Africa; the French Consul South Africa, Culturesfrance; Business and Arts South Africa; The Goethe-Institute of Johannesburg; The British Council; Media partners: Citizen CitiVibe, ClassicFeel Magazine and Artslink.co.za.

Tickets for the FNB Dance Umbrella are available at the door or can be booked at Computicket - 083 915 8000 and prices range from R60 to R100.
Concessions/block bookings and subscription tickets are available.
Booking opens in February 2010.
For further information contact 011 492 0709/ 2033 or e-mail danceumbrellatartslink.co.za
The Dance Umbrella 2010 hot-line for updates and programme schedules is 072 703 9332.
Visit www.artslink.co.za/arts

The Market Theatre presents
Death of a Colonialist
15 March-2 May 2010
Market Theatre - Barney Simon Theatre
Written by Greg Latter
Directed by Craig Freimond

This remarkable new play written by Greg Latter (best known as a successful South African screenplay writer) tells the story of an Eastern Cape history teacher reaching the end of his career at a private school in Grahamstown. Obsessed with the history of the amaXhosa, he is so wrapped up in his teaching world that he fails to be aware of the crises that are raging in his family. This exciting team includes Jamie Bartlett, Shirley Johnson, Louise Barnes and Theo Landey.

The Market Theatre presents
Closer
22 March-9 May 2010
Market Theatre - Laager Theatre
Written by Patrick Marber
Directed by Sello Maake ka-Ncube
Patrick Marber's Closer is a sad, savvy, often funny play that casts a steely, unblinking gaze at the world of relationships and lets you come to your own conclusions. Marber tells his story in short, staccato scenes in which the unsaid talks as loudly as the said. First performed at the Royal National Theatre 22 May 1997, Closer was made into a film in 2004, directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Natalie Portman as Alice, Julia Roberts as Anna, Jude Law as Dan and Clive Owen as Larry. Sello Maake directed this play with great success about ten years ago, with an all-white cast. He now returns to the play with a highly acclaimed all-black cast.

Constanza Macras
10 May - 6 June 2010
Market Theatre - Main Theatre
The famous Berlin choreographer will be staging a piece called Off-side Rules. Featuring dancers from her company Dorkey Park and leading SA dancer-performers. Dorky Park is a dance company from Berlin, and directed by choreographer Constanza Macras. Constanza Macras was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she studied dance and fashion design. After spending some time obtaining additional training at the Merce Cunningham Studio New York she moved to the city of Amsterdam, Holland, where she presented her work in various local venues. In 1995, Constanza Macras moved to Berlin and founded the group Tamagotchi Y2K, which became Constanza Macras/DorkyPark in 2003.

The Market Theatre presents
House of the Holy Afro
7 June - 11 July 2010
Market Theatre - Main Theatre
Brett Bailey's eclectic experiental music event which will take place over the World Cup. A combination of ritual, performance, song and DJs. A contemporary youth event back from major international tours.

Hello and Goodbye
12 July- 22 August 2010
Market Theatre - Barney Simon Theatre
Written by Athol Fugard
This successful production starring Dorothy Anne-Gould and Michael Maxwell has not yet enjoyed a full season in Johannesburg - in spite of its nomination for several Naledi Awards and its enthusiastic critical reception. One of the classics of South African (and world) theatre, this is the quintessential production, featuring exceptional performances. "When asked to name my favourite among the 50 years of playwriting that lie behind me now at the age of 76, Hello and Goodbye is without fail one of the three that comes to mind. It joins Blood Knot in being the moment nearly half a century ago when I discovered my own voice as a playwright," said Fugard, who has been described by Time magazine as the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world.