Event Description:

The Absa KKNK, which will be presented for the eighteenth time from 31 March to 7 April 2012 in Oudtshoorn, once again celebrates the variety within the arts, inter alia with major drama highlights that will grip the imagination.

Drama lovers can look forward to Nicola Hanekom's third site-specific production, Babbel, about the aftermath of a revolution where language disintegrates, resulting in chaos. Hanekom's award-winning team, including Tinarie van Wyk Loots, Brendon Daniels, Stian Bam, Bronwyn van Graan, Jacques Theron, Neels van Jaarsveld, Charisma Baday and Lerato Motshwarakgole star in this compelling piece of visual theatre, performed on a hilltop in Oudtshoorn. Hanekom's previous dramas, Betésda in 2010 and Lot in 2011, were crowned with a combined total of six Kanna and two Fiësta Awards.

Another breathtaking open air production, Vlam, presented by the Namjive dance company from Okiep, combines dance theatre with visual effects, dramatised myths, music, sculptures, giant puppets and, indeed, flames under the Klein Karoo stars. Local residents from Oudtshoorn are also involved in this project to develop the stories and to assist with the making of the puppets.

In Bos, written by Malan Steyn and under direction of Marthinus Basson, the talents of young actors that participated in the City of Cape Town Acting Competition, are exposed to a wider festival audience. This nail biting production, with Stian Bam as the lead actor, is about ten teenagers at a survival camp in a forest, where ghosts, hormones, peer pressure and bugs ensure a nerve wrenching experience.

Sam Shepard's award-winning Buried Child, translated by Saartjie Botha, is seen in Afrikaans for the first time as Doodsnikke. This piece, developed in collaboration with the Baxter theatre, will feature some of South Africa's most sought after actors, including Anna-Mart van der Merwe, Gys de Villiers, Oscar Petersen, Ivan Abrahams, Travis Snyders and Thenjiwe Stemela. Janice Honeyman is the director of this drama, which unfolds on a farm where a once ideal family is now desperate to hide an unthinkable secret.

Another highlight on the festival programme is Die vrou vantevore, starring among others Brümilda van Rensburg. In this piece, originally written by German dramatist, Roland Schimmelpfennig, translated and directed by Marthinus Basson, the life of a married couple is overthrown when a woman knocks on their door. She arrives to remind the husband about a promise he made - to love her forever - twenty-four years ago. What follows is a fiery story filled with humour and twists in the tale that eventually turns into a full-blooded tragedy.

Besides PG du Plessis's classic farce, 'n Seder val in Waterkloof, a brand new production from his pen will première at the Absa KKNK, in collaboration with Clover Aardklop. Alexa Strachan is the producer and André Odendaal the director of Teerling, with cast members Marcel van Heerden and Milan Murray. In Teerling the audience will have the opportunity to determine the fate of various characters - from a timid social worker, an ingenious prostitute, and a wealthy businessman, to a serial killer and a nurse with a cash flow problem.

Festivalgoers can also look forward to Deurbraak - a new festival venue where the work of upcoming artists will be seen. Kaptein Blitz en die Superheroes, Liewe Heksie and Lollos! are a few characters that will ensure a lot of entertainment for all the youngsters visiting the festival. Furthermore there will be music productions for every taste, lifestyle experiences for the whole family and the Rivierbuurt with top quality music, food, the Absa Arts Market and various other stalls.

Although the Absa KKNK remains the première South African festival for theatre and music in Afrikaans, our programme offers much theatre, music, dance and visual arts that is accessible to a wider audience. The complete festival programme will be announced on 18 January 2012 and will be available online at www.absakknk.co.za, following the launch. Ticket sales open nationwide at Computicket on 27 January 2012.