For Woordfees visitors this year's Fiësta winners promise a rich festival experience. All the big winners at the 9th Fiëstas Awards winners in the Artscape Theater in Cape Town, will be on stage at the Woordfees arts festival in Stellenbosch.
The yearly kykNET Fiëstas Awards honour work presented at arts festivals across the country during the previous year. The six producing festivals considered for the 2019 Fiëstas are the SU Woordfees, KKNK, Suidoosterfees, Innibos, Vrystaat Kunstefees and Aardklop. The judging paneel had to take around 230 debut productions into account.
The SU Woordfees had a hand in the funding and development of productions that received 39 Fiësta nominations. The four shows in the coveted Best Production category– Babbelagtig, GodgOdgoD, Klippe wat val and Toutjies & Ferreira – will all be at the Woordfees in two weeks time. Between them, these productions won a host of Fiëstas last night.
With four awards, Toutjies & Ferreira took home the most Fiëstas this year. It won Best Production, Best Actress (Joanie Combrink), Best Director (Nicole Holm & Wolf Britz) and Best Newly Created Threatre Production (Saartjie Botha).
Klippe wat val, written and directed by Philip Rademeyer, received Fiëstas forBest Actor (Wilhelm van der Walt) and Best Supporting Actor (Dean John Smith).
Babbelagtig won the Best Duo or Ensemble category, and Ilana Cilliers and Wolf Britz were awarded Best Theatre Design Fiësta for GodgOdgoD.
Anoecha Krüger was named Best Upcoming Artist for her performance in Raak – another play with a run at the Woordfees this year.
Saartjie Botha, the Woordfees festival director, also won Best Translation or Adaptation of an Existing Production with her adaptation of Karel Schoeman's acclaimed novel Hierdie lewe. Antoinette Kellermann received the Fiësta for Best Solo Peformance for her performance in this play, that debuted at the Woordfees last year.
According to Botha, the 2019 Fiëstas “was a celebration of creativity and artists, and, in equal measure, a recognition of the vital role the arts play in social cohesion and the creation of a healthier society. The challenge remains to create work that resonates with a diverse audience."
The SU Woordfees takes place from 1 to 10 March in Stellenbosch. Tickets are available at Computicket.
