Theatre in the Backyard: “Is He Mad?”
Theatre in the Backyard is one of the seven projects being supported by the ACC as part of Public Art and the Power of Place. Theatre in the Backyard presents “Is He Mad?” written & directed by Mhlanguli George and performed by Lamla Ntsaluba. According to the project organisers, “Is He Mad?”: ‘A story of a man who doesn’t want to accept the death of his wife and has not become himself ever since, the story is developed from the monologue from the well-known play of Dario Fo called “Accidental Death of an Anarchist” and some of the ideas are coming from the newspapers such as the Daily Sun, the play deals with people who are ignorant about real issues in their lives. The production will be performed in the backyard. Theatre in the Backyard has developed as a creative response to untapped resources of backyard life. Theatre in the Backyard uses actual backyards as the site for intimate theatrical production, working closely and powerfully with available light, space and other scenographic elements The Director of Theatre in The Backyard spends a lot of time exploring different yards to eventually come up with a pure story, this takes time as he has to use every element of the yard to put together the story, one of his main objectives is to find character’s to this mysterious venture and ways of revealing the backyard secretes. This is theatre based on reality – raw and alive experience. Writer, Director Mhlanguli George is the innovator of Theatre in the Backyard and founder and the Artistic Director of New-born Theatre Productions. Working as theatre writer, director and the choreographer of the company, he produced productions like “21st of march” ”June 16-isichotho semvula” “Teenage pregnancy” “Ndidliwa-ngumvandedwa” “Driven by faith”, “Kwa-Nongqongqo” ”Fourth person in the yard” ”Letters” and “Finding the space” Mhlanguli George has come up with a new form of theatre called “theatre in the backyard” that focuses on revealing secrets of the backyards good or bad. The first piece that George has created out of theatre in the backyard is called “Fourth person in the yard” and recently produced his second installation of theatre in the backyard “Is he mad?” Mhlanguli George worked at Uct Dance School as a lecture for 4th years introducing a new course “African Dance Performance Technique” The Production manager/administrator Sisa Congress V Makaula is the Founding member of Rainbow arts Organisation, one of the master minds in converting the Delft Rent Office to what is now known as Black Box Theatre, He has written a number of theatre productions: Behind My Shadow which went to the NATIONAL FESTIVAL IN GRAHAMSTOWN in 2008 and 2009, The Prophet Must Die recently performed at the Iqonga Creative Festival in Delft, and Freedom Speech to name a few. Today, Sisa Makaula is regarded as professional actor, theatre-maker, drama facilitator, writer, arts administrator and he is the Director and Executive producer of Rainbow Arts Organisation.
