In 2013 Mthombeni worked with the Magpie Art Collective, Net Vir Pret, Handspring Trust and the CHR in Barrydale on a puppet theatre production under the title, Karoo See , for the annual Parade and Performance on 15 December. The project involved training school youth in story-telling, puppetry and theatre direction and production. It brought together leading artists, including Jill Joubert (founder of Handspring Puppet Company), Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler (Handspring Puppet Company), Shane Petzer (Magpie Art Collective), Janni Younge (Handspring Puppet Company), Derek Joubert (Net Vir Pret and first director of the Community Arts Project), Pieter Tolker (Net Vir Pret) and Jane Taylor (CHR, UWC).
2014 was the fifth year of involvement by the Handspring Trust and the CHR in the annual Barrydale Parade, which ends in a performance in the grounds of the B.F. Oosthuizen Primary School, on the hill overlooking Barrydale.
The 2014 performance, produced by Handspring, the CHR and Barrydale’s Net Vir Pret for South Africa’s Day of Reconciliation, took place on 14 December. Entitled Kagg’agn Dreams , it told the story of a confrontation between a young person from Barrydale and a group of San hunter-gatherers, leading to a moment of personal reconciliation for the young man.
Mongi Nthombeni was the Artistic Director of Kagg’agn Dreams and gave the project energy and focus in the months before December. However, because he was touring to Brussels and Athens with Handspring’s Ubu and the Truth Commission , Aja Marnawick took over as Artistic Director. Kagg’agn Dreams involved over 150 children, giant puppets and a dozen speaking parts. Nthombeni and Marnawick were assisted by Kelly-Eve Koopman and the Young Leaders of Net Vir Pret.
Gallery
Poster for the 2013 annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, which was jointly sponsored by the Blumberg Family Foundation and the CHR
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 14 December 2014. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
Two giant puppets designed by Beren Belknap (the Eland) and Luyanda Nogodlwana (the Mantis) and used for the 2014 Barrydale annual Parade and Performance. Photograph: Helen Gilbert
Building the set for the CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Performance, grounds of the B.F. Oosthuizen Primary School, Barrydale, 12 December 2014, Barrydale, Western Cape. Photograph: Suren Pillay
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
CHR, Handspring Trust, Net Vir Pret, Magpie Art Collective Annual Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, 15 December 2013. Photograph: Robyn-Leigh Swart
Adrian Kohler (bottom, left), a co-founder of Handspring Puppet Company, and CHR artist-in-residence, Mongi Mthombeni (light blue shirt), working with the youth of Barrydale in preparation for the annual puppet Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, December 2013. Photograph: Jonathan Jones
CHR artist-in-residence, Mongi Mthombeni (blue shirt, bottom left), building a puppet with the youth of Barrydale in preparation for the annual puppet Parade and Performance, Barrydale, Western Cape, December 2013. Photograph: Jonathan Jones