WOYZECK ON THE HIGHVELD

An adaptation of German writer Georg Buchner's famous play of jealousy, murder and the struggle of an individual against an uncaring society which eventually destroys him. Buchner's Woyzek was a German soldier in the 1800s. In this version, Woyzek is a migrant worker in 1956 Johannesburg, a landscape of barren industrialisation. The production - the first collaboration between Handspring and renowned artist and film maker William Kentridge - brings together rod-manipulated puppets and animated film to graphically illustrate Woyzek's tortured mind as he tries to make sense of his external circumstances.   Directed by Kentridge, the production premiered at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in 1992, followed by a season at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg in the same year. Subsequently it toured to Germany, Spain, Belguim, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong. Australia, New Zealand, France and the United States - where it opened the Henson Foundation's Second New York Festival of Puppet Theatre at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre in 1994.

Director's note | Credits Photo gallery | BACK TO WOYZECK

WILLIAM KENTRIDGE I first came across the play Woyzeck in Barney Simon's remarkable production in the old Arena Theatre in Doornfontein in the 1970s. Characters and images from the play have floated on the edges of my consciousness since then. For many years I have wanted to do some form of production of the work as it seemed to me that the anguish and desperation of Buchner's text does not need to be locked into the context of Germany in the 19th century, and that the similar circumstances that exist in South Africa today make this play completely eloquent in a local setting.   The second source of this production is to be found in the desire to work with puppetry in general and the Handspring Puppet Company in particular - to work in an area in which performance and drawing come together, to try to see if one could find an emotional depth and weight without recourse to the obvious techniques of psychological transformation of an actor's face.   The third source is the animated films that I have been making. The cumbersome and archaic technique of charcoal drawing and erasure that I use imposes severe limitations on the mobility and interaction of the drawn figures. Working with puppets and these animated films attempts to bring the possibilities of versatile three-dimensional movements into the work I have been doing.   This is my first experience of working with puppets and the discoveries have been enormous. Each day of rehearsal has brought revelations of the things that puppets can do better than their living counterparts (try training a rhinoceros to write or an infant to fly on cue). Also worth watching out for is that strange condition where the manipulation of the puppets is completely transparent, where, in spite of seeing the palpable artificiality of the movement of the puppet, one cannot stop believing in the puppet's own volition and autonomy.

In brief | Credits Photo gallery | BACK TO WOYZECK

Director: William Kentridge Designers: Adrian Kohler, William Kentridge Animation: William Kentridge Assistant animator: Erica Elk Video editor: Thabo Nel Puppet maker: Adrian Kohler Assistant puppet makers: Francois Viljoen, Erica Elk Woyzeck: Louis Seboko Maria: Busi Zokufa The miner: Tale Motsepe Margaret: Tale Motsepe Andries: Tale Motsepe The Captain: Basil Jones The Doctor: Adrian Kohler The Barker: Tale Motsepe  Music produced by: Steve Cooks, Edward Jordan Sound design: Wilbert Schoubel Cello: Clara Hooyberg Piano accordions: Alfred Makgalemele, Isaac van Graan Lighting design: Mannie Manim Assistant lighting designer: Bruce Koch Set Builder: Francois Viljoen Costumes: Hazel Maree Stage manager: Bruce Koch Project coordinator: Basil Jones Production: The Standard Bank National Arts Festival, the Johannesburg City Council, the Foundation for the Creative Arts, the German Embassy, the Department of National Education and Art Bureau (Munich).

In brief | Director's note Photo gallery | BACK TO WOYZECK

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In brief | Director's note | Credits | BACK TO WOYZECK

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