Dizu Plaatjies Baxter Concert Hall 2020

In Covid times it has been back to the drawing board for most of us. The shift from public performance to isolation has propelled many to express their talents, no longer in the relative anonymity of collective theatre performance, but in small group work that asserts individuality.
Stripped of the bling-bling and dazzle of theatre gesture what is left? Intimate songs, joyous playthings, reflective utterances and the give-and-take of small ensembles. As we emerged from the cocoon, we started to record these scatterings over four days in the Baxter Concert Hall.
The array included ensemble and solo pieces for endongo, ndingidi, amadinda, likembe and other Baganda instruments - as taught to us by George Kitaka, 2020 Mellon Foundation sponsored UCT Artist-in-Residence from Uganda; as well as Xhosa songs and instrumental pieces, traditional and contemporary - as led by Dizu Plaatjies, leader of the UCT African Music programme; and work done by postgraduate students from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Subsequently, in the thaw of restrictions, we united all these performance pieces in a filmed production called MATANGA. This narrative production consist of a Vigil of Songs dedicated to all who have been the victims of this pandemic - which has included family members of the UCT Ibuyambo cast.