Acclaimed South African playwright, director and producer Lara Foot is this year’s Featured Artist for 2016. She will stage three productions at the National Arts Festival: the world premiere of her latest play, The Inconvenience of Wings; and the restaging two of her award winning works, Karoo Moose and Tshepang.

Nearly a decade since its premiere and 15 top South African awards later, Foot’s Karoo Moose returns to the stage with the original cast, who reprise their respective roles. The story is vividly brought to life by Zoleka Helesi, Mdu Kweyama, Bongile Mantsai, Thami Mbongo, Chuma Sopotela and Mfundo Tshazibane. The actors each perform a key character and double up to play multiple additional characters, adding to the magic of the story.

Foot tackles the disintegration of the family unit and the violation of innocence endured by so many South African children. The play combines African story-telling and magical realism.

“The themes of the story for me were bound up in the idea that the children in the village needed some kind of magical event to free them from abuse, neglect and poverty. Something magical was needed to break the cycle of violence.” – Lara Foot

Performed in English with isiXhosa, the story takes place in a remote and impoverished village in the Karoo, where the inhabitants are struggling to survive. A young girl called Thozama ends up killing a moose. But what is the moose doing there, and how did it get there?

• Karoo Moose runs at the National Arts Festival from 30 June to 2 July (with only four performances) and thereafter transfers to the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio from 31 August to 24 September. There is an age restriction of 13.
• Book here for Karoo Moose
• For more information: www.baxter.co.za

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