This Death Here... | SEASON 10

What will come to define this modern era? As humankind moves closer towards the end of the Anthropocene, and the start of the Plasticine, will we be remembered for our ingenuity or for having engineered our destruction?

Directed by Mark Fleishman, This Death Here… draws on Antigone’s Ode to Man and the story of the Greek inventor, Daedalus, to put forward a profound and prophetic lament on the human condition.

Jennie Reznek, Sisipho Mbopa, and Indalo Stofile share and embody the roles of the great inventor and his son, Icarus, accompanied by a resounding Greek chorus. Weaving together a rich soundscape is Neo Muyanga who, in the second half of the epic, drives the enduring lament.

The performance carries a reflexive throughline as it places humankind at the centre and cause of a seemingly incurable world, while also employing a mixture of live music, projected drawing, and physical languages, culminating in a rhapsodic collapse.

The work’s closing lines, “Cannot cure, cannot restore, cannot heal… in the face of death”, are no less impactful, no less existentially mournful, for having been signalled at the start through a striking, bloody collapse. They are devastating and deliberate.

But is not a work without hope. Sprouting up through the low, torrential notes of Muyanga’s closing composition – like the field of flowers that springs up in Neustetter’s drawing – are the high, faithful notes, the enduring ability to find hope in an otherwise irresolvable condition.

CONCEPTUALISERS | Jennie Reznek & Mark Fleishman
DIRECTOR | Mark Fleishman
COMPOSER | Neo Muyanga
PERFORMERS | Jennie Reznek, Sisipho Mbopa & Indalo Stofile
CHORUS | Tshepang Mofokeng, Nomathamsanqa Ngoma, Mapule Moloi, Anathi Conjwa, Khokho Madlala & Zandile Hlatshwayo
VISUAL ARTIST / PROJECTION | Marcus Neustetter
TEXT | Jennie Reznek after Sophocles and Ovid

SEASON 10 PRODUCTION

FOUNDER | William Kentridge
CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR | Bronwyn Lace
MOMENTEUR FOR THE SO ACADEMY | Athena Mazarakis
HOLDER & HEAD STAGE MANAGER | Dimakatso Motholo
STAGE MANAGERS | Sibongile Mathe & Khanyisile Ngwabe
DIRECTOR OF CINEMATOGRAPHY & EDITOR | Noah Cohen
CINEMATOGRAPHER & EDITOR | Bukhosibakhe ‘Pantsulatographer’ Khoza
EDITOR & COMPOSITOR | Octavia Sonyane
PHOTOGRAPHER | Zivanai Matangi
ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHER | Bash Hops
SOUND DESIGNER & ENGINEER | Zain Vally
ASSISTANT SOUND ENGINEERS | Ross Culverwell & Ruby Friedman
WRITER & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER | David Mann
SCENOGRAPHER & COSTUME DESIGNER | Nthabiseng Malaka
COSTUME DESIGNER | Nthabiseng Makone
SEAMSTER | Thoriso Mogale Jnr Mpshe
SET BUILDING & COSTUME ASSISTANT | Philani Masedi
SET BUILDER | Lindani Nxumalo
DRESSER | Masesi Hlatshwayo
SCENOGRAPHY & COSTUME MENTORS | Sabine Theunissen & Greta Goiris
​​MECHANICAL ENGINEERS | Chris-Waldo de Wet & Jacques van Staden
HOUSEKEEPING & SPACE MANAGER | Gracious Dube
PRODUCTION MANAGER | Wesley France
LIGHTING DESIGNERS | Barry Strydom (Cue Lighting & Sound) & Michael Inglis (Emmet Theatre)
LIGHTING TECHNICIANS | Matthews Phala, Themba Mthimkhulu & Ncedo Ivan Ntaba
LIGHTING ASSISTANT & CREW | Bongani Mpofu
FRONT OF HOUSE | POPArt Productions: Hayleigh Evans, Samkelisiwe Khuzwayo, Sboniso Thombeni, Aroma Lebooa, Aviwe Dasha, Nqobizitha Khupe, Raymond Taiwe, Martin Grendele, Aalliyah Matintela, Zanele Mthombeni, Muzi Trust & Linda Mangena with ushers from The Market Theatre Lab 2nd year and WITS CPM programmes
PUBLICITY | Bronwyn Coppola (ThinkArtMedia)
LIGHTING & AV | Splitbeam Gearhouse (Pty) Ltd Hiredesk
STAGE GEAR SUPPLIER | Setsational
SOUND EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER | SoulFire Studio (Pty) Ltd & Splitbeam Gearhouse (Pty) Ltd Hiredesk

Special thanks:
Linda Leibowitz, Natalie Dembo, Damon Garstang, Anne McIlleron, Anne Blom, Joey Netshiombo, Diego Sillands, Thandi Mzizi, Jessica Jones, Taryn Buccellato, Laurie Cearley, Rachel Chanoff & THE OFFICE performing arts + film.

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