Adam Small's Legacy To Be Celebrated At Artscape

Reconciliation Day, a day of great significance in South Africa will be celebrated at Artscape with a host of activities honouring the legacy of Adam Small. Small passed away on 25 June this year.

The Stigting vir die Bemagtiging van Afrikaans (SBA) will host a book launch of ONS KOM VAN VER AF. Its title meaning " we come from afar", the book was due to be released on Small's 80th birthday on 21 December.

The 35-chapter book, which is edited by Michael le Cordeur and Wannie Carstens, looks at the contribution of brown speakers of Afrikaans to the development of Afrikaans as a language. Small played a major role in the development of the language during his lifetime and the book - which was created with his blessing - aims to counter the perceived silence of brown Afrikaans speakers on the current debate in South Africa about the future of Afrikaans as a teaching language. With so-called coloured people making up the largest component of the total Afrikaans market, the book explores this community's commitment to the Afrikaans language.

The book begins with a poem, Selwyn Milborrow's "come let us bring honour to Adam Small". With poetry being one of genres in which Small worked, this poem is a tribute to his work and a fitting way to start the book. Although he never lived to see this project come to fruition, the authors and his widow Rosalie felt that the project should still continue to honour Small's legacy.

In further celebrating Small's legacy, JOANIE GALANT-HULLE, a play written by Adam Small, will be staged at the Artscape Arena. It focuses on a family who is forcefully removed from their home in Woodstock during the District Six removals. They are then moved to the Cape Flats but during their stay, they find themselves unable to make rent and then have to move into a shack, where they experience more trauma. Throughout the process, Joanie loses her sense of reality and eventually ends up in an institution, where she finally finds "home". The story questions where home really is and what displacement does to family and individuals alike. JOANIE GALANT-HULLE is directed by Nolan Africa and runs until 17 December.

The Reconciliation Day's activities will also witness the launch of the Artscape festive season's first free sideline production by the Khayelitsha-based United Choral Artists, to be staged on the piazza for patrons' delight prior to the scheduled theatre production at 14:00. The United Choral Artists is a non-governmental organisation that has performed at various festivals such as the Old Mutual National Choir Festival using choral music as a vehicle to advance humanity and eradicate alcohol abuse, drugs and crime.

Wrapping up the day's activities will be PETER PAN AND TINKERBELL and ANNIE. Tickets for all productions are available at Computicket outlets and from the Artscape Box Office.

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