As the 2018 US Woordfees has drawn to a close, the time has come for MatieMedia to sit back, relax and recap the highs and lows of the 19th annual installment of this prestigious arts festival.
As would be expected from an art festival that has established itself over the years, the 2018 installment of the US Woordfees delivered some incredible performances, with the artists pouring out their heart and souls for the festival goers.
The Good:
The discourse café events truly made an impact this year, with Jacques Pauw’s discourse panel being wildly popular. Danie Marais, the public relations officer of Woordfees and coordinator and organiser of Filmfees, said that it “probably set a new record for attendance.”
From the theatre offerings Marais highlighted Ons is almal freaks hier which he said “was conceptually something new and interesting.” The production took place in the US Museum which broke the conventions of traditional theatre. It incorporated not only the elements of the production itself, but also the visual elements of the artworks on display.
Marais also spoke very highly of Beloofte Land, which he said “was extremely interesting in the way that it combined puppetry with music in a Black Mambazo style from The Abonwabisi Brothers.”
Buite Land stands out as a highlight from the 19th annual US Woordfees. PHOTO: Hans van der Heen
For some members of the MatieMedia team Buite Land stands out as a highlight of the festival. Praise for the production could not get much higher from Wilhelm Schumann and Kyra Tarr, two journalists with MatieMedia who reviewed the production, calling it “groundbreaking”.
According to Tarr and Schumann this was due to the production being incredibly inclusive with the play making use of three languages, creating a multicultural experience and showing viewers that co-existence without hostility is indeed possible.
In the world of film, Marais was quick to state just how delighted he was that the X18 rating of Inxeba had been lifted, and went on to say that it was a “win for the freedom of expression and democracy in the country.”
Away from the artists, the US Woordfees also made other aspects of the festival far more user-friendly. Like last year, the festival was kept cashless, but the Sanlam cashless cards of 2017 that had to be loaded with credit to buy food and drinks were nowhere to be seen.
Festival-goers could now simply use their credit or debit cards to pay for tickets and refreshments alike.
Nothing is perfect however, and Woordfees 2018 was no exception.
The Bad:
While Woordfees produced some wonderful high points, there were also a number of aspects deserving of criticism. After discussions with US Woordfees sources, certain issues became apparent.
This includes security. “Guards knew that they had to be at the sites overnight,” but sometimes security was not prevalent, leading to free access to sites that were supposed to be secured, said one of the sources. This was because security guards appeared to be uncertain of what they were supposed to do at the sites.
Other issues included the scheduling of events which was brought to the attention of Marais. The Fokofpolisiekar concert was scheduled during the Maties vs Ikeys varsity cup game and in response Marais said that “they felt that the two would not be in competition.”
Marais also commented on the cancellation of the theatre production Slippies which came down to the production not feeling they were ready to perform yet.
The theater production Slippies unfortunately had to pull out of US Woordfees. However Danie Marais hopes to see them back next year. PHOTO: Facebook
“I think the show was 80 percent there but because it’s such an important politically loaded production about cultural appropriation, everybody involved wanted to get it exactly right,” said Marais on the production.
Most pressing, however, was the feeling that students were not a part of the plans for US Woordfees. This sentiment was shared by sources collaborating with the Woordfees who stated that they felt the amount of student involvement had decreased tremendously from last year, but especially from two years ago.
The reason for the drop in student involvement is unclear, but certainly the pricing of events did not encourage students to get involved and participate in the numerous events at this years US Woordfees.
The Expensive:
Woordfees had a number of acts across the festival, with prices ranging between free and R60. However, there were also a number of events that cost over R100 to watch a single act.
The most expensive of these being Bombshelter Beast at R500, and The Fairy Princess which had tickets ranging from R100 to R350. In reference to Bombshelter Beast Danie Marais said, “It is unfortunate. The price was probably just too high.”
With prices ranging between R100 and R500 (mostly at R100-R140) and well over 40 different acts, a feeling has arisen that the festival is aimed at older generations, and excludes students. “Older people go because they can afford it,” said Jessica Jamieson (20), BCom Industrial Psychology.
Margot Kuster (20), a BSc Food Science student, said “If you look at the crowd… the crowd is just old people or foreign people.” She continued to emphasise that “R140 is like food for a few days.” Kuster did concede that “the film festival isn’t badly priced though.”
The audience enjoying Klipwerf Orkes PHOTO: Michael Davidson
Not every student feels this way though. Hein Wille (23), a History Honours student, said “For students it’s like R20 off a ticket, I don’t think it’s excessive.” He continued however, to say “I wouldn’t pay R200-R300 for a 2-hour production. R100 is still affordable, but like R300 is a bit excessive.”
Wille also felt that “if you’re really interested and want to grab as many shows as possible, you should save up and plan ahead.” This means that without prior planning, a number of Woordfees events remain inaccessible to most students.
When asked, Jamieson and Kuster said they would feel like they could participate in the festival if something similar to a student week pass or student discount was implemented across all events.
While Woordfees did implement lower costs for students, this was limited to specific events. Namely, the Coetzenburg Family Day, which was reduced from R100 and R120 at the gate to R60 and R80 at the gate for SU students. This was however, one day out of an entire festival.
Events like Bly Vrydag had tickets reduced to R30. However, this was again only on one day (12 February) and it was limited to 1000 tickets. Furthermore, the event times were during the middle of the day, when most students would be in class.
– Casey Delport and Michael Davidson