This Cape Town landmark was transformed into a fairyland of festivity with pretty lights, poster walls, graffiti chalkboards and brightly coloured signage directing patrons to one of the four theatre venues at that location, as well as the Fringe Club, which offered free performances during the late-afternoon happy hour and kept theatre-goers in party spirit until the wee hours. Particularly impressive were the services provided by a local security company, the upbeat baristas at the coffee shop, and the patient box-office staff.
In addition to providing a showcase for performers across a range of genres, about 30 technicians and sound/lighting specialists were employed during the festival, including some industry stalwarts. Guitarist Guy Buttery was highly complimentary of their effort: "I have had the honour of performing at many first-time festivals over the years, some of which have been fantastic and others which needed a bit of work. I've never been to an inaugural event of any kind that is so well organised, with great venues and even better technicians, as I have at the Cape Town Fringe. The city is lucky to have all these world-class shows come to its doorstep (from all over the country and not just Cape Town) and, personally, I hope it's here to stay for good."
For some theatre fans, the Cape Town Fringe serves as a bridge between the National Arts Festival and other similar events on the arts calendar, so audiences have the opportunity to catch up on what they may have missed. Highlights included The Architecture of Tears, presented by F.O.8 Dance Collective, which showcased Grant van Ster, Shaun Oelf and Thabisa Dinga doing what they do best. You can catch them during the Baxter Dance Festival, too, on 17 and 18 October. Choreographed and directed by Ananda Fuchs, you can expect nothing less than sublime synchronicity. Still on the dance stage, the Cape Academy of Performing Arts presented one of its strongest performances yet in Between the Lines.
Among the dramatic gems were The Year of the Bicycle, 2013 Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award winner, staged again following a sell-out run in Germany - brilliantly written by Joanna Evans and performed by Amy Wilson and Aphiwe Livi. The Champion, written and performed by Khayalethu Anthony, winner of the Zabalaza Festival Best Production Award, also had a run at the Baxter Theatre following the Cape Town Fringe. Anthony's portrayal of his inner conflicts was quite riveting; the subject matter around domestic abuse sparking subsequent debate.
The Standard Bank Ovation award-winning production, Crazy in Love, featuring Andrew Buckland and Liezl de Kock, attracted full houses. Presented by A Conspiracy of Clowns, the pair took audiences on an emotional journey to find a lost love and an absent mother, producing inspired performances filled with mesmerising chemistry.
Ameera Patel's award-winning Whistle Stop was another hit, while Salt, a Standard Bank Ovation Award winner penned by Wynne Bredenkamp, delivered the promised level of thrilling physical theatre, but jarred slightly in the casting of a young girl in the role of a woman who had been in a psychiatric hospital for 40 years.
On a musical note, Herbie Tsoaeli's African Dream Quartet turned into a special occasion (look out for his forthcoming debut album).
The event did not escape criticism, however, and festival CEO Tony Lankester said that the organisers will be responding productively to issues, particularly around timelines and the selection process. "Now that we've done our first event and have a solid idea of the venues involved and what they're capable of - and now that we're more confident around the logistics of staging an event in Cape Town - we can focus on bringing a lot of that selection, scheduling and planning forward, giving productions more time to prepare and market themselves," he said.
Catering facilities should be improved at some designated festival venues - snacks were only available for evening performances at the Galloway Theatre, for example, leaving daytime patrons searching for sustenance. And, sadly, the Dragon Room is one of several venues that insist on flouting South Africa's smoking legislation - a disappointing discovery to say the least.
The Cape Town Fringe is a project of the National Arts Festival, held in Grahamstown every July, and stems from a three-year partnership with the City of Cape Town. Other partners are Standard Bank, M-Net and 567 Cape Talk.
