Suidoosterfees 2012

... where we are unashamedly Cape.

What can be more Cape than our very own Marc Lottering, with his Cape dialect, Cape hairstyle and his Cape character Aunty Merle? Or the Gugulethu Tenors and Three Tons of Fun? Or a “ghaatjie” on a taxi in Kap’An (also a typical Cape word)? Or in titles like Journey to Cape Town, Allie Pad Funny Worcester (to Cape Town, naturally) and Weskus Dramafees? Or in the widely popular Let’s Mix It, which has been in Cape Town theatres for quite some time, but now for the first time at the Suidoosterfees.

Displacement and eviction are nothing new for the people of Cape Town. This is spectacularly portrayed in Dis!Place and in Elsa Joubert’s Sendeling, which debuts at the SOF. Cape people also know the search for identity, as shown in Scars, and of living with HIV/Aids, as in I am Here.

But we can also shake our bodies like Alistair Izobell in the Mixed Bredie concert. And the Cape of Storms, which we all know so well, is the dramatic setting for the world renowned Wagnerian opera, Der Fliegende Holländer, a challenging production taken on by the Suidoosterfees, along with Cape Town opera singers and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. Also playwright Athol Fugard's Die Kaptein se Tier, which will be performed for the first time in Cape Town, is set at sea.

Suidoosterfees, Cape Town 2011

Then, we are proud of our own Cape Town opera diva, Virginia Davids, who can be seen in When the Saints go Marching In, written by the well-known Cape Town writer, Hennie Aucamp. The soap stars Theodore Jantjies en Vinette Ebrahim return in the 2010 sell-out hit Vaselinetjie, and also see the well-loved Shaleen Surtie-Richards in As ek maar geweet het, and the TV presenter Francois Toerien in his own show, BEE Kômpliant. And because we in Cape Town love gospel, two big Gospel Concerts will be staged this year for the first time. Also, our Cape love of jazz, hiphop, choir music, classical music, books, art, whisky and food can be enjoyed.

And to demonstrate our Cape Town hospitality, we welcome with huge applause the Zimbabwean actor in Cockroach, the leather puppets from Indonesia, the Indian films and the well-known South African music stars Mango Groove and Thandiswa Mazwai.

Who wants to miss this “Kaapsgeit”? Come, celebrate being “Kaaps” with us.

Celebrate your home even more by finding out what you can see and do in and around Cape Town.

Check out what happened at the 2011 Suidoosterfees.

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