Droomwerk, written and produced by the poet Pieter Odendaal in collaboration with US Woordfees, was awarded the ATKV Woordveertjie for best new Afrikaans play (2021), despite never having been performed.
Based on Odendaal’s exploration of his heritage as a white Afrikaans-speaking male with slave ancestry, the work explores the ancestral roots of mental health in order to bring healing through dreaming and ritual to family trees devastated by colonialism and apartheid. .
Directed and designed by Kanya Viljoen, with Lwanda Sindaphi as associate director.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Writer: Pieter Odendaal
Producer: US Woordfees and Pieter Odendaal (River Mouth Projects)
Designer and director: Kanya Viljoen
Associate director: Lwanda Sindaphi
Cast: Jill Levenberg, Ben Albertyn, Johann Nel, Noluthando ‘Tyrish’ Mili and Johann Vermaak
Stage manager: Miliswa Mbandazayo
Costume design and manufacture: Yonela Makoba
Sound design and composition: Jannous Aukema
Instrumentation: Jannous Aukema & Sumalgy Nuro
Production manager: Marí Stimie & Bamanye Yeko
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Pieter Odendaal is a poet, playwright, translator and editor. His debut collection, asof geen berge ooit hier gewoon het nie (Tafelberg), received the 2019 Ingrid Jonker Prize. He was the executive director of InZync Poetry from 2015-2019 at Stellenbosch University. Odendaal recently received his PhD in Creative Writing from QUT in Brisbane, and was an Andrew W. Mellon writer in residence at UCKAR in 2021. He currently lectures Creative Writing at NWU in Potchefstroom.
Kanya Viljoen is a writer, director and film- and theatre maker from Cape Town. Kanya completed her Masters degree in 2020 at UCT as part of Andrew W. Mellon’s Re-Imagining the Tragedy from Africa and the Global South project. Her projects include RAAK (2017), Like Hamlet (2018), mank (2018), Die Skrif is Aan die Muur (2018–2020), Jessie, die Man en die Maan (2019) and Op die Hoek van die Sesde straat (2020). Kanya recently co-wrote and co-directed her first short film, ekstasis, which has been accepted for various international film festivals. Kanya received the award for best co-director for ekstasis at the New Renaissance Film Festival in the Netherlands.
Lwanda Sindaphi is a multi-award-winning and published playwright, theatre director and poet based in Cape Town. Hy holds an Honours degree in scriptwriting from UCT and a certificate in Physical Theatre from Magnet Theatre. Sindaphi has more than ten years’ experience in the South African theatre industry and he has traveled extensively, including to France, Germany, Switzerland, Dubai and Mauritius as an actor and director. His projects include KUDU (winner of three Fleur du Cap awards) Esiseleni Sedini, Ingqanga and Songs of this Soil (NAC Trade Fair award for best playwright).
