Argentina may be famous for the tango, Evita Peron and it’s amazing steaks, but this July sees another quality export – its theatre.
The award-winning play Cooking with Elisa will make its South African debut at the National Arts Festival (Main Festival) in Grahamstown from 6 to 8 July, before moving to Johannesburg where it opens the Argentinean Cultural Week on 23 July and continues for a two-week run at Auto & General Theatre on the Square until 2 August.
The short fable by author and poet Lucía Laragione, which hearkens back to the period of Argentina’s so-called “Dirty War” of the late 70s and early 80s, was selected as the winner from some 90 plays of the 2011 Proyecto 34°S Theatre in Translation initiative, a project that aims to encourage the exchange and appreciation of written theatre plays from Africa and Latin America.
The pieces sees two women on an estate in the countryside vying for power as they pluck, slice, skin, snap, carve, chop, roast and boil French delicacies for a demanding Madame and Monsieur, with undertones of the dark arts and political dictatorships…
The South African production sees an all-star team bringing the story to life with Fleur du Cap and Naledi award winning actress Patricia Boyer as the domineering and cruel cook, Nicole, and the talented Lurdes Laice as naïve young country girl Elisa. The cast is directed by 2012 Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre, Princess Zinzi Mhlongo with outstanding set and costume design by award-winning designer Noluthando Lobese and lighting by the skilled Mandla Mtshali.
“The piece is powerful, provocative and intense and will definitely provide for much debate and conversation!” said Cooking with Elisa and Argentinean Cultural Week producer Nikki Froneman.
With South Africa celebrating 20 years of democracy and three decades since the restoration of democracy in Argentina, Cooking with Elisa is a challenging, thought-provoking and apt piece to present in 2014, resonating as it does with the histories of both countries. The exciting collaboration will mark the first time that a contemporary Argentinean woman playwright is staged in South Africa, and quite possibly Africa, and Laragione herself will be attending the Johannesburg opening night.
“Proyecto 34°S and the Embassy of Argentina are very proud to be presenting this play for the very first time on African soil. The production is the result of some four years work and we are looking forward to a fantastic reception by South African audiences,” said Ambassador Carlos Sersale di Cerisano.
Other events during the Argentinean Cultural Week include photo exhibitions, music and dance performances. The Week is the first of many events to run from July until the end of 2015 as part of a continuing season of artistic exchange between Argentina and South Africa.
The Argentinean-South African exchange is supported by the Argentinean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship (MRECIC) and Directorate General of Cultural Affairs (DICUL), and implemented by the Embassy of Argentina in South Africa, with the South African Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) and Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), while being implemented by the Embassy of South Africa in Argentina.
