From 24-27 May, an inspiring group of scholars, educators and arts practitioners gathered at Spier Wine Farm in the Western Cape to participate in “Shakespeare Towards An End”. Constituting the twelfth triennial congress of the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa and co-hosted by Wits University’s Tsikinya-Chaka Centre, the conference included keynote talks by Ruben Espinosa (Arizona State University) and Jyotsna Singh (Michigan State University), over thirty papers delivered by delegates, screenings, panel discussions, a rehearsed reading and of course lots of good food and wine. You can read the Call For Papers and download the conference programme to find out more. Shakespeare ZA is proud to present a visual tour of this fantastic event!
May 24th dawned cold but clear. For those who had arrived the previous day, there was a chance to drive out along the False Bay coast, to drop in on the Drama Factory Ensemble rehearsing scenes from Lekan Balogun’s Olórógun Caesar! and to enjoy the spectacular views and delicious wines at Uva Mira, before heading back to Spier for - of course - #ShakeSpier …
… but there was no time to dwell on further possible bad puns. More delegates joined in as Jessica van Rensburg of the Spier Arts Trust took the group on a walkabout to learn more about the farm’s contested history and Spier’s renowned art collection.
The next stop was Spier’s lovely Riverhouse venue, where the conference was to be held. At the opening cocktail function, convenors Chris Thurman and Sandra Young welcomed delegates and offered some introductory remarks to frame the discussion that would emerge in the days ahead. This was followed by a screening of four short films from the Speak Me A Speech project - an exciting collaboration between CineSouth Studios and the Tsikinya-Chaka Centre that will see dozens of Shakespeare monologues performed in South African languages by some of the country’s best performing artists. Filmmaker Victor van Aswegen was joined by actor-translators Anelisa Phewa and Buhle Ngaba for a panel discussion about the first two speeches in the series. (Watch the second video below for a short introduction to Speak Me A Speech.)
The next morning, the conferencing began in earnest - as did the rain - with Ruben Espinosa delivering the first keynote, “The Way To Dusty Death: Shakespeare and Tomorrow”. The Riverhouse was jam-packed for this riveting talk! (Full videos of the keynote speeches will be available on Shakespeare ZA soon.)
After a short break - the first of many over the next three days - for tea, coffee, Spier’s delicious snacks, chats, more chats and a chance to browse the book table ... it was time for the first panel of papers, “African Shakespeares: History, justice and identity”. Ifeoluwa Aboluwade, Stephen Collins, Marguerite de Waal and Lekan Balogun discussed Shakespearean translations and adaptations in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
Panel 2 was on “The Racialisation of Enslavement, Family, and Lineage in Shakespeare’s Drama”, with Hassana Moosa, Lydia Valentine and Hanh Bui.
The final panel for the day was “Facilitating Student Engagements with Shakespeare”: Colette Gordon, Marta Fossati, Naomi Nkealah and Dyese Elliott-Newton. In the evening, the conference dinner was held at Spier’s marvellous hotel restaurant - there was much animated conversation until late that night!
Day 3 of the conference started with the second keynote speaker, Jyotsna Singh. Her wonderful talk, “Lyric Voices, Cultural Translations, and Dialogues across Time and Space: William Shakespeare and Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984)”, was followed by a panel on “Imagining Radical Justice with Shakespeare” featuring Lisa Barksdale-Shaw, Frances Ringwood, Lucy Wylde and Anthony Patricia.
After a break for lunch, Peter Holland, Henry Bell, José Manuel González and Peter Merrington constituted Panel 5: “Travelling (with) Shakespeare”.
Panel 6, “Teaching Shakespeare in South African Schools”, featured Linda Ritchie, Lauren Bates and Kirsten Dey.
After a busy day and yet more business - the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa’s general meeting - it was time for #ShakeSpierSip, a wine tasting sponsored by Easy Equities and presented by Carel Nolte.
The final day saw delegates braving the cold and wet weather (along with the horror of an early start!). Fortunately the panel on “Translation, appropriation and allusion - versions of Shakespeare in South Africa” made it all worthwhile: Giuliana Iannaccaro, Zwelakhe Mtsaka, John Simango and Anelisa Phewa.
The penultimate panel, “Against an end?”, discussed the production of “Endless Shakespeare” (David Schalkwyk), emphasised “Shakespearean Drama as an End in Itself” (Catherine Addison) and queried the notion of “Travelling Shakespeare” (Laurence Wright).
The title of Panel 9, “Ageing, Death and Life Hereafter”, may have suggested a morbid trajectory, but in fact Geoffrey Haresnape, Fiona Ramsay and Marc Maufort each concluded their papers on an uplifting note.
Finally, it was time to bring “Shakespeare Towards An End” to an end - but, fortunately, this occurred in a manner that gestured towards future prospects. The Drama Factory Ensemble (Khanyiso Thakholi, Yamkela Ntendiyo, Sibusiso Maranxa, Mava Silumko, Buhle Sam and Yongisipho Mtimkulu) performed selected scenes from Lekan Balogun’s Olórógun Caesar! Together, Balogun and the cast had workshopped and adapted the material to produce the beginnings of a Nigerian/South African hybrid work.
