SA Shorts

SA Shorts’ invitation to the National Arts Festival in July had them premiering on a global stage. At saw UJ taking to Student Theatre festival SA Shorts engaged with professional casts and phenomenally impressed the adjudicators as a cast of volunteer performers.

Presented by UJ Arts & Culture, SA Shorts: quickies for a microwave generation, is a collection of six short plays of proudly South African writing. This, the work of numerous playwrights who have taken the opportunity to establish themselves and to voice their stories by presenting their pieces which have not been performed or produced before, and which engages in many different aspects of life through their eyes.

SA Shots consists of snappy, witty, humorous, dramatic and also some dark humour, serious issues and features looking at a tragedy from the eyes of a clown in Wave. This diversity is suited of a variety of audiences and has captivated the imaginations of many through this new form of storytelling that brings together different views and forms into one production.  Each piece was chosen to specifically suited for a student cast, there was no style or criteria, but Alby Michaels was looking for pieces which had distinct voices and strong scripts. SA Shorts moves away from Far-off-off-Broadway (FOOB) as it contains home-grown pieces suited for an array of audiences.

From Grahams town to the UJ stage, SA Shorts has grown and made a few changes. As each piece is between 10 to 15 minutes, director Alby Michaels and his assistant directors Motlatji Ditodi and Rethabile Mothobi have polished SA Shorts into a Must See! The dynamic on stage proves to be a theatrical experience which is rare, entertaining and thought provoking.  Dance the Dance by Tristan Jacobs, Kill Me,Please! by Rhea MacCallum, Metaphorically Speaking by Zanandi Botes and The Opening by Rob K Baum premiered at the National Arts Festival. Losing the Plot by Anthony Akerman and The Wave by Renos Spanoudes, were added as SA Shorts opened at the UJ Arts Centre Theatre,