The 2023 National Arts Festival in Makhanda is drawing to a close today after a successful eleven days. Late on Saturday night (1 July), the Festival, and its partner Standard Bank, held a ceremony to recognise the shows that stood out on the National Arts Festival’s Fringe with the winners in the Standard Bank Ovation Gold, Silver and Bronze categories being announced.The Fringe is an uncurated programme at the National Arts Festival; a space where artists can bring work of any genre, language or subject. The Fringe attracts new work, revised work, collaboration and experimentation. It’s also a platform for schools, universities and colleges to debut work for the first time.
This diversity is reflected in the selection of this year’s overall winners which includes National Arts Festival veteran Rob van Vuuren, who took a Gold for his viral sensation Namaste Bae: Blessings and Kombucha and Theatresmiths, a collaborative of theatre makers, awarded both a Gold Ovation (The King of Broken Things) and a Silver for their children’s show The Great Big Enormous Turnip.
Theatre from schools (Stirling High School’s Missing), universities (Rhodes University Drama Department’s Pen(t)s Down HaHa!) and institutions (Sonwa Sakuba Institute for the Performing Arts’ Dear Tata: What Makes Man) all won Bronze Standard Bank Ovations. Fringe newcomer Pichi Keane made waves during her visit to the Festival and took a Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award home, as did children’s play The Red Balloon presented by the National Children’s Theatre .
Durban’s MacBob Productions did well with multiple Ovations but took home the Bronze for A Vegan Killed My Marriage and Baked Shakespeare took their Bronze for As You Like It. The poignant Ashes to Ashes, The Stories We See and Wilderness all took audiences on a journey and walked off with a Bronze for it. Local Makhanda-based choir, Kwantu who also performed in Msaki’s performances this year, were the winners of another Bronze Standard Bank Ovation Award while Land of Nonesi brought their own Eastern Cape flavour and were awarded a Bronze.
Says National Arts Festival Fringe Manager, Zikhona Monaheng, “Every year Fringe artists risk it all, putting hours into creating work and raising the money to bring their shows to the stage at the National Arts Festival. Winning a Standard Bank Ovation Award is an affirmation that this hard work has paid off. It is also an endorsement that resonates with theatres and Festivals both in SA and abroad as many of our Ovation winners go on to tour their productions. We also welcome those winners back year after year, with new work and old favourites. Some previous Ovation winners even go on to become Standard Bank Young Artists, as we have seen with this year’s cohort.”
Standard Bank Ovations are awarded throughout the Festival to shows that resonate with audiences and demonstrate good theatre craft. Shows on the Fringe are reviewed by a panel of anonymous reviewers. At the end of the Festival the panel selects overall winners who are acknowledged at a ceremony attended by artists from across the Festival programme.
Speaking at the Standard Bank Ovations Awards, Standard Bank Head of Sponsorships, Desiree Pooe said, “These awards, which were introduced in 2010, have helped many artists’ careers flourish, and so we hope that those being recognised this evening will contribute to bringing attention to the depth of South African talent. These Awards have also become an important indicator for the public in determining the best from the Fringe line-up. Congratulations to all the 2023 Standard Bank Ovation Awards winners. You have all
worked hard for this, and now your commitment and dedication to the arts have paid off. Each of you is celebrated.”
A solid foundation for artists, the Fringe accounted for just over 59% of ticket sales this year and, in the lead up to the Festival, hundreds of applications were received suggesting that the arts is slowly re-emerging post Covid. This year’s Standard Bank Ovation Awards panel were Alby Michaels, Samantha Carolus, Kutlwano Kepadisa, Keamogetswe Moeketsane-Malefo, Thoko Sipungu, Asakhe Cuntsulana, Susan Baker, Bailey Snyman, Unathi Fumbata, Sibusiso Mkhize, Lalu Mokuku and Tebogo Gxubane.
The winners of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Standard Bank Ovation Awards for 2023 are:
GOLD STANDARD BANK OVATION WINNERS
Namaste Bae: Blessings and Kombucha
Rob van Vuuren
The King of Broken Things
Theatresmiths
SILVER STANDARD BANK OVATION WINNERS
Red Balloon
National Children’s Theatre
Ripe ‘n Ready
Pitchi Keane
The Great Big Enormous Turnip
Theatresmiths
SILVER STANDARD BANK OVATION WINNERS
A Vegan Killed My Marriage
Macbob Productions
As You Like It
Baked Shakespeare
Ashes to Ashes
Nobesuthu Jennifer Ndlovu
Dear Tata: What Makes a Man a Man?
Sonwa Sakuba Institute for the Performing Arts
Kwantu in Concert
KWANTU Designs
Land of Nonesi
Isomi Creative Arts Space NPC
Missing
Stirling High School
Pen(t)s Down Haha!
Rhodes University Drama Department
Second Hands
Rhodes University Drama Department
The Stories We See
Wilderness
Stacey van Schalkwyk with PentaFusion