Through the lens of “taboo” topics such as gender and sexual identity, Stellenbosch University (SU) drama students explored what it means to be human during the annual Première Theatre Festival (Prem).
This is according to Frances Bruwer, the organising assistant of the festival and alumnus of SU drama department.
The annual Première Theatre Festival gives Stellenbosch University drama students the opportunity to produce their own plays. PHOTO: Antoinette Steyn
The festival, which opened on 23 July, featured 12 competing original plays, each written, directed, and performed by SU drama students. Bruwer said that the plays seem to have an underlying theme of exploring the human experience.
“Students are questioning society, and questioning what we usually take as a given,” she said.
“If you really want to see what this young generation likes and thinks, Prem is an awesome place to see it.”
A unique opportunity for young artists
This year’s Prem was the seventh to date, and was hosted in the Adam Small theater.
Students pitched 24 play ideas in February, of which 12 were chosen to be showcased during Prem, said Bruwer. Die Koning en sy Bruid, written and directed by Nichola Viviers, took home the trophy for best production on 27 July.
The winning play was invited to perform at the 2024 Toyota Woordfees, and received a cheque of R40 000, said Viviers. “Prem is definitely iconic, but [very] stressful […] I am so grateful for this.”
Many professionals in the theatre industry started their careers with Prem, and the event offers a “unique opportunity” for young artists to experiment and present their work to industry professionals, potentially launching their careers, according to Bruwer.
According to judges Saartjie Botha, Hugo Theart, Lizané Basson, Cornelia Faasen, and Amelda Brand, the plays were of a “very high quality” this year. When announcing the winners, they indicated that the first and sixth place plays’ final scores differed by only 1.3%.
Frances van Rooyen takes a physical approach when getting into character for the annual Première Theatre Festival. “I observe and adopt gestures that I think the character uses,” she said. PHOTO: Antoinette Steyn
‘Pushing the limits’
“There is no other place in the [theatre] industry where you can just do whatever you want […] I think it is very important that we are able to experiment and tell the stories we want,” said Dhania Schultz, writer and director of monolith, one of the plays that featured during opening night.
Bruwer said that she could see in the performances that students were “pushing the limits”, which excited her.
“It’s lab theatre, it’s not commercialised. So, there is no pressure to make money,” she said.
Each night of the annual Première Theatre Festival showcased three original plays, which are written, directed, and performed by Stellenbosch University drama students, according to Frances Bruwer, organising assistant of the festival. PHOTO: Antoinette Steyn