A group of students from Stellenbosch University (SU) recently performed their festival debut at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) in Oudtshoorn.
SMF News was in attendance at the festival debut of Öh, a play entirely in gibberish, on 4 April. The show tells the story of Mohn, an elderly chef who struggles to prepare dinner one night.
The production was coordinated by SU students Kristen Fichardt, Shannon Hendry, Sonja Louw, Enzo Cocciante, and intern Clarice Schoonwinkel, the team told SMF News.
Fichardt, a BAHons (Drama and Theatre Studies) student specialising in creative writing, said that this is the first play that she has directed.
“[Hendry and Louw] performed a gibberish heightened-style show that did well [in an exam], then pitched [a different play] for the Première Theatre Festival,” said Fichardt. “When they got in, they asked me to direct it.”
Fichardt said that the show aims to transcend language barriers and foster understanding between elderly and young people.
April at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK) in Oudtshoorn. From left to right: Shannon
Hendry, a BAHons (Drama and Theatre Studies) student specialising in cabaret, Sonja Louw1, a
BAHons (Drama and Theatre Studies) student specialising in physical theatre, Clarice Schoonwinkel,
a junior technician intern at the Stellenbosch University Drama Department, and Kristen Fichardt, a
BAHons (Drama and Theatre Studies) student specialising in creative writing. PHOTO: Uendjizuvira Kandanga
“It’s about an old chef who needs to step down from his role,” said Fichardt. “It’s about accepting when it is your time to go, when someone younger is coming into your place.”
Fichardt hoped that the audience would connect with both Mohn and the younger chef who is taking his place, and their relationship through acceptance of one another.
Following their production at KKNK, the group will perform at Vrystaat Kunstefees in Bloemfontein in July and at Theatre Arts in Cape Town in August, said Hendry, a BAHons (Drama and Theatre) student specialising in cabaret.
“It’s not a normal Afrikaans play [like others at the KKNK], and we hope people will be welcoming to that,” said Hendry. “Kristen made it a fascinating gibberish language, and we are committed to that. It’s not just nonsense happening on the stage; it’s structured.”
Technical elements
Before the performance, Schoonwinkel, a junior technician intern at the SU drama department, said that they all prepared extensively, and that during the performance they just had to concentrate.
“I want to enjoy the performance, but I also have to remind myself that I’m watching to look out for specific technical elements,” she said. “So, I can’t enjoy it as much.”
Louw, a BAHons (Drama and Theatre Studies) student specialising in physical theatre, said that these technical elements can be challenging to manage.
“While they are acting, I have to think of the technical elements and react to all that they are doing,” said Louw. “There’s a lot of thinking happening simultaneously.”
and theatre students, and which was performed at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees in
Oudtshoorn on 4 April. PHOTO: Uendjizuvira Kandanga
Support from industry giants
The cast received strong support from their university lecturers, and felt safe to experiment and take risks under Fichardt’s direction, said Louw.
“We were supported by the Première Theatre Festival and had great mentors like Marthinus Basson, who is so full of wisdom,” said Fichardt. “He’d come to our rehearsals, and it was incredible how we could work with such an industry giant.”
- This article was updated on 10 April to correct the surname of Sonja Louw. ↩︎