Groot Kunstefees- en Teaterindaba

Moontlik gemaak deur/Supported by:

Lynette Marais

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Grahamstown's ship still afloat

Festival Director Lynette Marais answers Jean Meiring's questions

JM: In July 2004 the Grahamstown National Arts Festival celebrated its thirtieth birthday. Many congratulations on being 30 years young! What are your fondest memories of this year's festival? What were the three highlights - artistic or personal - for you?

LM: It is all a highlight for me! Each year I feel as if a miracle is taking place. Festivals are events that require the dedication and expertise of so many people to make them work. I never fail to wonder and give thanks for the many artists, technicians, media, service providers and festival-goers who make the event possible.

JM: What do you do every year the day after the festival ends, when Grahamstown returns to sleepy tranquility? Lie catatonic in bed, or is there simply too much work to be done?

LM: A festival is like a party - when it's over, you have to clean, tidy and put the furniture back in place! So, yes, there is simply too much work to allow for a break, but the stress level is different and you can take time to have a cup of coffee and read the papers!

JM: And how long before preparation for the next year starts?

LM: We always work ahead, so some things are already in the pipeline for the following year. The whistle goes at the beginning of August and the countdown starts.

JM: How long have you been involved with the festival? Tell us a bit about your personal history with this African institution.

LM: I started in April 1989 to learn the ropes from my predecessor Miggi Lorraine. It was baptism by fire and I realised that within a period of ten days more works were presented than the drama department at PACT mounted in a whole year. Enormous challenges, exciting and enriching ones, learning about other disciplines and the artists working within them.

JM: Before I ask you to talk about how the nature of the festival has changed since you started working there, please give us a thumbnail sketch of the very early history of the festival. It now seems shrouded in the mists of the very distant past.

LM: Grahamstown has been associated with carnivals and festivals for more than 160 years as British immigrants established the tradition of celebrating landmark anniversaries on a grand scale. The entertainment was always varied, including items such as poetry readings, music, lectures, exhibitions and processions.

In 1957, Tom Bowker proposed to the Grahamstown City Council that a monument be built to commemorate the 1820 Settlers. It was agreed that the best form of commemoration was active: "While mindful of the past, to do things present which shape the future." In a 1964 memorandum to the 1820 Settlers Monument Committee, Professor Guy Butler wrote: "Grahamstown, like other historic cities, has certain attributes and needs, which make it worthwhile considering seriously the possibility of it becoming a festival centre." It was then agreed that in addition to the new monument being used for conferences and other gatherings, it would also be a centre for English language festivals.

An inaugural festival was held in 1974 when the 1820 Settlers National Monument was officially opened on Saturday, 13th July. In December 1975 the Monument hosted the outstanding and successful International Women's Convention, attended by 800 women from all over the world, of every race, colour and creed - and this at the height of apartheid! With the exception of 1975, a festival has been organised every year since then.

The National Arts Festival, a project of the Grahamstown Foundation since its inception, became a Section 21 Company in its own right in 2002.

JM: How has the festival changed since you first became involved? How has the rebirth of 1994 affected the functioning and spirit of the festival?

LM: Firstly, I must mention that the saviour of the Festival was Standard Bank, with a sponsorship that must surely count as the most important contribution to South African culture over the past two decades. In 1984 Standard Bank became the umbrella sponsor, and continued for the following 18 years.

With the advent of this new sponsor, the Festival could expand. More disciplines were included, such as popular and traditional music, more opera, a regular film festival, physical and community theatre, and an expanded role for the Winter School, as well as an expansion of the Fringe.

At the end of 1999, Standard Bank decided to relinquish the name sponsorship after the 2001 Festival, but committed itself to remaining involved on a partnership basis.

In 2002, the Eastern Cape Government and the National Arts Council of South Africa joined as partners. This brought new challenges, spirit and hope for this unique enterprise.

Members of the Festival Committee have worked tirelessly over these past thirty years to honour the ideals of the founders of both the Monument and the Festival. At the dedication of the Monument Archbishop Bill Burnett, at a service at which heads of all churches officiated, asked that it be used "for all that is good and for the healing of a nation".

In 1990, a large number of new Festival Committee members were appointed who expressed new aims and objectives for the direction of the Festival. Head of the ANC Cultural Desk, Barbara Masekela, arrived with a flourish to add spice to the debate, and soon the call for Mozart to move over for the marimbas echoed around the town and in the press. But there were murmurings from many about just how democratic these "cultural desk" structures were. Suddenly the value of artistic freedom became abundantly clear, and the Committee sat tight as artists began to stand up for their right to that freedom. The question was asked, "Who has the right to dictate where the Festival should be heading?" The answer rang out loud and clear - no one but the artists and the audiences. But, many cried, the audience is not representative.

From then on, for many years, the Festival Committee and sponsor representatives met with various cultural bodies from around the country. Assistance and advice came from numerous interested and concerned organisations and individuals with the aim of broadening the participation in the Festival by performers and audiences from historically disadvantaged communities.

This has been an ongoing challenge and will remain so for many years to come. The Festival Committee has worked doggedly and continues to do so to reach these goals. Participation has certainly broadened and the programmes on offer have an aesthetic balance meaningful to all sectors. Audience participation, though greatly improved, is a long-term process that the Festival has no real control over. Until there is an upturn in the economy, a redistribution and creation of wealth among disadvantaged sectors, plus arts education for all, the numerical ratios of our audiences will not truly reflect the country's population.

However, that said, ways and means must be found to accelerate the process.

JM: There's much talk in the profession that some sort of overall plan is needed to ensure that theatre in this country survives. Suggestions range from having more co-productions between various festivals to the institution of a grid of provincial festivals with one rotating national festival. What do you think of these suggestions? What would your own solution be to what many see as the floundering of theatre in this country?

LM: For artists to develop and hone their skills they must be afforded the opportunities to practise their art. How else can they achieve this if they cannot work within a company that is constantly producing a variety of work? Artists need exposure to different directors from whom they learn different methods and techniques. Young artists working with experienced actors learn from them and, might I say, vice versa! Artists are no different from athletes, and need to train as rigorously with excellent coaches in order to win gold! And let us not forget: in order to grow, audiences need to be exposed to a constant choice between a wide variety of productions.

My personal ideas about a possible solution would depend on the funds available and the most effective ways to tailor them to best serve our community. Remember, I'm an administrator and even though I do have some wonderful and wild ideas, I'm aware of what I call "rand reality"!

JM: Has the emergence of the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival, and the other big Afrikaans-language festivals, hurt Grahamstown? Give us some idea of the attendance figures over the past decade. Are you slightly cynical about the Oudtshoorn and Potch festivals claiming to be national ones?

LM: I wouldn't use the word "hurt". Certainly when Grahamstown presented the only festival, people came that now attend one or more of the other festivals. I believe that a lot of festivals are a good thing, as they develop not only the arts but also new audiences, which we all rely upon. Our attendance figures have grown over the past two years after taking a bit of a dip in 2002, when at one stage we thought we might not have a festival owing to funding problems. No, I'm not cynical about KKNK and Aardklop calling themselves national arts festivals, because basically we are all trying, I hope, to become "national" in the true sense of the word. We don't have a national language, but we all present work from around the country and work to attract audiences from areas other than our own provinces.

JM: Certainly these festivals have managed to secure very large corporate sponsorships. How is Grahamstown's financial situation currently?

LM: We are all right at the moment but certainly would like another major partner on board.

JM: This year there was some disquiet at Grahamstown, especially amongst the participants on the Fringe. Objections ranged from the complaint that Main festival shows are subsidised and are able to undercut Fringe shows, to a feeling that the festival rag Cue didn't cover the Fringe extensively enough. PANSA recently held a forum to air these grievances and will be addressing these to the festival administration. Without pre-empting this process, would you give us some sense of how serious this situation is, and whether you believe there are things Grahamstown should be doing differently or better? If so, what and how?

LM: There are always things you can do differently and better. You just have to chip away at them and strive to achieve your goals over a period of time. Finance always rears its head and no matter how much you may want to do everything at once it is not always possible. The Festival Committee has always taken serious cognisance of grievances presented by artists and we will be debating the issues raised and looking at ways to address the problems.

JM: How does one keep reinventing a festival year after year? How do you keep it fresh and interesting in a country where the theatre scene is rather small and the cost of inviting participants from elsewhere is surely often prohibitive?

LM: This is a tricky question as you are reliant on what is happening in the country at the time. This is where I think festivals are presently playing such an important role as new work is often commissioned or their presentation totally subsidised by the festivals. Some work is presented jointly either by a number of festival partners or by two in a partnership arrangement. Partnerships are also formed between production companies where they have managed to find some funding from other sources. Foreign embassies and governments also play a major role in entering into sponsorships to enable the bringing in of works and artists from abroad.

JM: What is on next year's agenda? And how does the year ahead look? Give us some sense of the year in the life of a festival director.

LM: I hope another good festival! Lots of work to be done to address some of the issues raised by both artists and committee members. The hardest part of being a festival director is trying to meet the creative aspirations and technical needs of artists and technicians all within the finances available, because at the end of the day you have to break even.

JM: And in ten years' time? Where will Grahamstown be? And, indeed, what will the state of theatre in this country be?

LM: I hope flourishing! I can't answer these questions, as I simply don't know the answers. What I do know is that there will always be theatre, simply because if it is in your blood to make it, you will! Never underestimate the determination and intuition of artists. I am very optimistic as the role of both the national and provincial governments in using the arts to promote nation-building and address job-creation bodes well for the future. But Rome was not built in a day! Five- and ten-year plans and budgets based on available funds for this development process should be put in place and implemented, with artists involved not only in the planning but in the financial implications.

JM: Many thanks, Lynette.



LitNet: 20 September 2004

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