Karoo Moose

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This is a story which came to our village like a thunderstorm pouring down big dollops of rain. A story which spread through the eyes and ears of witnesses and passers by and frightened villagers. This is a story that no old woman would ever have thought of, and no silent man could ever have dreamed. This is a story sent by the gods on a gust of wind and a bolt of lightning. This story was thrust on our village and could only be whispered by the very curious and very brave. This is a story about the young girl Thozama and the wild, unimaginable and terrifying beast. 

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?

The play was originally written as a film entitled No Fathers. Writer and director Lara tackles the disintegration of the family unit and the violation of innocence endured by so many South African children and it cleverly and creatively combines African storytelling and magical realism.
She explains, “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.”

Duration: 1 hour 25 minutes (no interval)

Evening Standard (giving it 4 stars) said, “Karoo Moose is certainly funny and (fun), generously energetic yet also disturbing and soulful,” with “deeply felt, constantly imaginative production richly rewards alert attention” 
Daily Telegraph, and the Independent going so far as to say “Lara Foot’s production of her own play staged with flair and fluency. The actors are immensely likeable and appropriately spell-binding.”
“What is so engaging about Karoo Moose is the playwright's manipulation of the  African oral tradition. References to tales which can fester in men's minds or trip off gossipy village tongues are swept aside for the story which is birthed before our eyes and senses. The womb is the stage and the performers double as midwives and men and women giving birth to characters, scenarios and rituals.”  Adrienne Sichel, The Star

“South African theatre genius Lara Foot Newton was the biggest winner at the Naledi Awards at the State Theatre in Pretoria on Sunday. Her show Karoo Moose made a clean sweep of the awards, winning 12 of the more than 20 awards at stake. The play also took the prestigious Best New South African Play produced, Best Director of a Play or Musical, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, and Best Production Cutting Edge/Ensemble. Notably, this was the biggest number of black winners since the awards started five years ago.” - Edward Tsumele, The Sowetan

“An African tale magnificently told” - Dianne de Beer, Tonight, Pretoria News

“With a spirited cast and a fantastically ingenious premise, it is impossible not to surrender to the director’s whimsical vision” - Peter Tromp, Cape Times

“It does so with compassion, humour, imaginative largesse and a dynamic cast that makes this play a truly invigorating experience.” – Chris Thurman, Weekender

“This group of thespians who bring this yarn to life are skilled storytellers and their enthusiasm and passion is infectious and their performances mesmerizing.” - Mary Corrigall, Sunday Independent.

“a theatre for the senses," Anton Krueger

“overwhelming” and “an exceptional work”. Dianne de Beer

 “the theatre-style is fresh – African storytelling, song, music, visual theatre, rituals and healing theatre. It shifts the boundaries of traditional South African drama to a palette of magical realism, folk tale, story-telling and musical theatre.”  Herman van der Westhuizen Aardklop  chairman of the panel of judges

What the English press had to say
“Fresh, immediate and often delightful” - Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

“Karoo Moose is certainly funny and (fun), generously energetic yet also disturbing and soulful.” - Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard, 4 stars

“Lara Foot’s production of her own play staged with flair and fluency. The actors are immensely likeable and appropriately spell-binding...” - Michael Coveney, The Independent
There’s deft writing here and an abundance of energetic performance”- Benedict Nightingale, Timesonline

… the basic narrative line is strong, and this deeply felt, constantly imaginative production richly rewards alert attention - Benedict Nightingale, The Daily Telegraph

“…there is considerable dramatic power to the play” - Gerald Berkowitz, Theatreguide, London

“There is also a great deal of easy humour, in some of the cartoon-like secondary characters and in the performers’ infectious joy in story-telling.” - Gerald Berkowitz, Theatreguide, London

“Karoo Moose has the feel of traditional storytelling, of a myth being related to demonstrate the strength of the human spirit” - The Society of the London Theatre

“Karoo Moose is an opportunity to get a real feeling not only for what is proving popular in South African theatres today but the culture of that country. As such, it is very welcome and deserves to prove popular throughout the duration of its run.” - Philip Fisher, The British Theatre Guide

“Karoo Moose is a good example of a recent trend to mix traditional storytelling with magic realism and social comment” – Michael Coveney, Whatsonstage

“…the actors were likable and skillful. Sopotela is riveting” - Time Out

Director's Note
Some ten years ago, while I was visiting and working in Sweden, accompanied by my then one-year-old son and my child-minder, Thozama, we were walking down the street in Stockholm. We passed a restaurant displaying a huge head of a moose in the window. Thozama said, “La, what is that animal?” I replied that it was a moose. “Oh! “she said, “when I was a young girl living in the Eastern Cape, I think I killed one of those and ate it!”

Well, this story certainly got my imagination going. A moose in the Karoo! There was something magical and mythical about the image. I thought about it for a long time afterwards. Years later when I had to write a film script towards an MA that I was doing at Wits under the superb guidance of Malcolm Purkey, I decided to write a mythical story around the idea of a small village struggling for survival and a girl called Thozama, who ends up killing a moose. The themes of the story for me were bound up in the concept of trans-generational trauma and 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.)

After writing the film, which I called No Fathers, I realised that there was little chance of ever finding the budget for the movie and so began to toy with the idea of turning it into a play. This was an opportunity for me to go back to my love of magical realism and African storytelling.

A special thank you to Thozama for her inspiration. A very big thank you to the entire cast for their generous creative contribution to this production. Their input was crucial to the realisation of this play.

First performed at the ABSA Aardklop Festival in October 2007
Since its world premiere just three years ago at the Afrikaans Absa Aardklop Festival in Potchefstroom,
the production has already scooped 14 major South African theatre awards, and it was highly praised by some
of England’s most revered and feared theatre critics when it was performed at the Tricycle in London last year.
The Guardian: “fresh, immediate and often delightful,”

Winner of 14 top South African awards
South African awards:
Aardklop Festival (Potchefstroom) - September 2007

Aardvark Award for the Most Innovative Work – Lara Foot Best Actor Award (ensemble cast)
Nominated for Best Production
Fleur du Cap Awards (Cape Town) - March 2008

Best Director - Lara Foot

Best New Indigenous Production

Best Actress - Chuma Sopotela

Best Prop Design - Henning Lüdeke and Koos Marais
Thami Mbongo received a Best Supporting Actor nomination
Patrick Curtis received the Best Set Design nomination
Naledi Awards (Johannesburg) - April 2009

Best New South African Play

Best Production of a Straight Play

Best Director of a Play or Musical - Lara Foot

Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role - Mdu Kweyama

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Zoleka Helesi

Best Original Choreography - Mdu Kweyama

Best Production Cutting Edge/Ensemble

Best Performance by a Newcomer / Breakthrough (Female) - Chuma Sopotela

Prices:
Mondays R70 (see Baxter Mondays below)
Tuesday–Thursday R120
Fridays and Saturdays R130

Discounts: (Tuesday–Thursday only)
UCT staff, senior citizens, students and block bookings of 10 or more R80 (Tuesday–Thursday only)
Baxter Club members R65 (7–10 July only)

Special offer: Book for Border/Clash: A Litany of Desires and Karoo Moose at the same time and pay only R60 per ticket (all performances except Baxter Mondays)

For discounted block bookings (entire house), charities, schools, corporate bookings and fundraisers, please contact one of the following:
Sharon Alexander 021 680 3962 or sharon.alexander@uct.ac.za
Carmen Kearns 021 680 3993 or carmen.kearns@uct.ac.za.
BAXTER MONDAYS
Special offer for Monday nights only! Have a light meal in the Baxter Restaurant and see a performance of Karoo Moose for only R70.

Book online through Computicket.

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