Assistant Director. Die Name Wat Ons Gee, directed by Aja Marneweck.
The Barrydale Reconciliation Day Puppet Parade / Barrydale, South Africa / Dec. 2015
Die Name Wat Ons Gee - The Names That We Give - explores the history of slavery in the Western Cape region of South Africa. It was developed in collaboration with the Net Vir Pret community development organization in the town of Barrydale, which for the past few years has played host to the Barrydale Reconciliation Day Puppet Parade. The Parade draws on the expertise of the Cape Town -based Handspring Puppet Company and is aimed at continuing engagement with the promise and pitfalls of reconciliation, remembrance and multiracial democracy in post-apartheid South Africa. For more on the project, please see the article I wrote for HowlRound on "Puppets and Politics in South Africa."
I was privileged to be part of the directing team behind Die Name Wat Ons Gee, along with Aja Marneweck (director), Kelly-Eve Koopman (assistant director and script supervisor) and Jako Beyleveld (stage manager). The large puppets used in the show were designed by Ukwanda Puppets and Designs Art Collective with Glynn Bartlett. Additional puppets were designed by Jill Joubert. Handspring Puppet Company's Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler provided invaluable mentorship and production oversight. Khanyisile Mbongwa served as producer.