The Standard Bank Ovations Awards are only given to new productions on the National Lottery Fringe. Once a production has been awarded an Ovation Award, the Company is invited to propose a new work to the following year’s Arena programme.
Of the more than 318 productions and performances submitted to the National Lottery Fringe this year, 232 were premiers and eligible for consideration for an Award. Says Standard Bank Ovations Awards chairperson, Tracey Saunders, “The new productions on this year’s programme ranged from the staging of familiar South African texts to established international scripts, deeply personal monologues to epic family sagas and some ground-breaking new texts straddling the terrain in between.”
Saunders went on to say that despite economic constraints and the general feeling of malaise gripping the country, the National Lottery Fringe continues to excite and entertain and, more importantly, provoke conversations and ask questions of us as individuals and society.
The National Lotteries Commission contributed R10m to the Fringe this year, and assumed naming rights to the event.
The 2016 Standard Bank Standing Ovation Award was presented to the French Institute of South Africa and the Embassy of France for two decades of supporting visionary collaborations and exchanges between South African and French artists.
A Standard Bank Standing Ovation Award was also presented to Gary Gordon to honour his longstanding creative energy in South Africa’s cultural life and his enormously significant contributions to the vitality of the National Arts Festival’s Main, Fringe and Arena programmes.
A Standing Ovation Award was presented to Ismail Mahomed who ends his tenure as artistic director of the National Arts Festival at the end of July. Speaking at the announcement, National Arts Festival CEO, Tony Lankester, recognised the nine-year commitment that Mahomed had made to the Festival, saying that he had “transformed the programme, filled it with richness and left a lasting legacy of excellence”.
Commenting on the impact of the awards, Mahomed said, “The Ovation Awards have earned a significant gravitas in the arts sector. They have become a barometer for audiences and visiting arts managements about productions that should not be missed. Artists at the Festival have been bold and have used their talents and skills to engage with burning issues in the most creative ways.”
Rust Co-Operative was awarded Gold for the theatre production, Sillage
Artscape was awarded Silver for the theatre production, Ityala Lamawele
Alan Parker was awarded Silver for the dance, Sacre for One
Rust Co-Operative was awarded Silver for the theatre production, The Graveyard
Artscape was awarded Silver for the theatre production, Die Glas Ennie Draad
Explosiv Productions was awarded Silver for the theatre production, Dangled
Kristin Hua NG-Yang was awarded an Ovation for the dance, BIRD/FISH
Matt Newman was awarded an Ovation for the theatre production, Cock
Sibikwa Arts Centre was awarded an Ovation for the theatre production, Chapter 2 Section 9
Theatre for Africa was awarded an Ovation for the theatre production, Ebola
Uyabona Ke was awarded an Ovation for the physical theatre production, Falling Off the Horn
Artscape was awarded an Ovation for the theatre production, Henrietta with Love
One Shushu Day Artistry was awarded an Ovation for music, Msaki and the Golden Circle
Nombasa was awarded an Ovation for music, Nombasa
Hungry Minds Productions was awarded an Ovation for the theatre production, Out of Bounds
Lebo Leisa was awarded an Ovation for the theatre production, Paleho
Neo Motsatse was awarded an Ovation for music, The Concert
Bloom & Stone was awarded an Ovation for the comedy, Tease!
Liquid Fusion was awarded an Ovation for the dance, Burn
Moving into Dance Mophatong was awarded an Ovation for the dance, ‘...feathers...’
Klara van Wyk was awarded an Ovation for the comedy, You Suck: and Other Inescapable Truths
UJ Arts & Culture (a Division of FADA) was awarded an Ovation for the theatre production, For Coloured Girls Who Have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf
Lexi Meier was awarded an Ovation for the performance art, Fabric of the Universe
ExploSIV Productions was awarded an Ovation for the comedy, Thenx Presents Aza-Nya is Five-To
Daneel van der Walt was awarded an Ovation for the cabaret, Dani and the Lion
Sibonele Dance Project was awarded Merit for the dance, Abangawona (The Unseen)
Umsindo Theatre Projects was awarded Merit for the theatre production, 10 Days in a Shebeen
Slindile Mthembu was awarded Merit for the theatre production, Milked Voice
Well Worn Theatre Co was awarded Merit for the theatre production, Rat Race
Outreach Foundation (Hillbrow Theatre) was awarded Merit for the theatre production, Isaro
ExploSIV Productions was awarded Encore for the comedy, The Dark Ages
Awards for the best works by students at the National Arts Festival were decided by a panel, convened by Jacqueline Dommisse, that included Lee-Ann van Rooi and Bertina Johnson.
Nominated for the Most Promising Playwright of the Year Award
Thembela Madliki of Rhodes University for Nyanga
The cast of Pharmakon by University of the Free State for a devised script
Winner of the Most Promising Playwright of the Year Award:
Namisa Mdlaloze & Pueng Stewart for University Of Cape Town’s Figs
Nominated for the Most Promising Director Award:
Sarah Nansubuga Wits University for The Village
Dara Beth of University Of Cape Town for Figs
Winner of the Most Promising Director Award
Thembela Madliki of Rhodes University for Nyanga
Nominated for Best Production Award:
University Of Cape Town for Figs
Winner of Best Production Award:
Rhodes University for Nyanga
The annual anthology of Short, Sharp Stories was launched at the National Arts Festival this week. Die Laughing “stories of wit, satire and humour” – was edited by Joanne Hichens, who is also the curator of the competition. The authors included in the collection were announced and awarded at the National Arts Festival.
This Could Get Messy by Greg Lazarus
This Is Not A Joke, Maureen by Gail Schimmel
Angel Heart by Kobus Moolman
Editor’s Choice:
Learning a New Language by Fred Khumalo
Jim Goes to Durban by Anton Krueger and Pravasan Pillay
Number One With A Bullet by Christopher McMichael
The Derby by Ofentse Ribane
The Viewing Room by Diane Awerbuck
The Seduction of Ozzie Stone by Stephen Symons
Earlier in the week, South African author, Lidudumalingani won the 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story Memories We Lost, which featured in the 2015 Short, Sharp Stories anthology Incredible Journey: Stories that Move You.
