Two award-winning festival hits as well as a stage production of an award-winning book will hit the stages at the 2010 ABSA KKNK Festival.

Even though the full ABSA KKNK Festival programme for 2010 will only be announced in February, festival-goers have more than enough reason to be excited.
Vinette Ebrahim and Theodore Jantjies play the adult roles in the drama, Vaselinetjie, based on the book by Anoeschka von Meck. Von Meck is also the author of Annerkant die Longdrop, and has won the Jan Rabie/Rapport Prize; the MER Prize for youth literature; and the M-Net prize amongst others for Vaselinetjie (also published in English as My Name is Vaselinetjie).

Helena Bosman, better known as Vaselinetjie, is a white cast-away child raised by a ‘coloured’ couple, whom she only knows as Grandpa and Grandma. At the age of ten, welfare sends her to an orphanage where Madiba’s cast-away children live. It is a hard and dangerous world in the orphanage, where your hair is shaved off and you continuously make plans to run away. The name that comes up repeatedly is Texan Kirby… a name that does strange things to Vaselinetjie’s heart!

The young actors in the cast were finalists in the City of Cape Town’s Theatre competition for High School pupils in 2009. The 7de Laan Director, Henry Mylne, known for his production of Poppie: Die Drama and Paulus amongst others, is the director. Vaselinetjie is a co-production with the Suidoosterfees (SOF). The book is also prescribed for grade 11 learners.

Author Chris Barnard, who has been awarded the Hertzog Prize twice, is 70 years old this year. In celebration of this milestone, director Albert Maritz staged the Barnard play, Taraboemdery, during the Innibos Festival in Nelspruit. It received the award for best artistic contribution at Innibos. The ABSA KKNK co-produces Taraboemdery with the Innibos Festival.

Taraboemdery, which was written in 1976 on commission by Oude Libertas, was banned after it was performed in the former South West Africa (now Namibia).

Even with André P. Brink as director, the South African government did not allow the play to be performed in South Africa.

The actor-director, Albert Maritz, has assembled a celebrity-rich cast, which includes Milan Murray (Dusty from Isidingo); Neil Sandilands (previously Bart from 7de Laan); Richard van der Westhuizen (from Andries Plak); Pierre van Heerden and Petro van den Heever.

“The standard of the play is extraordinarily high, and the tambour which announced the play Taraboemdery with such flourish and controversy in the 1970’s, reverberates with as much vitality,” commented Paul Boekkooi in the Lowvelder. “Taraboemdery is a nearly flawless production of a classical Afrikaans piece which affirms its timeless relevance anew.”

Another co-production – this time with the Aardklop Festival – is Chris Vorster’s (also from 7de Laan) Adam September en die Nazi-skat, a drama crowned even before its Potchefstroom debut. Vorster, also known for hits such as Haaks and Steeks, received the 2009 ATKV-Woordveertjie for a Drama text for Adam September.

The production which attracted huge audiences at this year’s Aardklop, is an action comedy with a bit of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, by the creator of Jeims Blond. The cast includes Marius Weyers (also in 7de Laan); Ben Kruger; Ivan Abrahams; Christo Davids (in 7de Laan and this year’s Fugard drama Bloedbroers); and Albert de Villiers.

The 16th ABSA KKNK Festival will be held in Oudtshoorn from 1-8 April 2010. Bookings for accommodation are now open. Call our accommodation booking office at 044 203 8600.