Isango Ensemble News

During the time I was running a theatre my boyfriend used to say that the difference between Monday to Saturday and then Sunday was that all the days of the week were the same, except that on Sunday there was somebody on the sofa fast asleep. And so it was that after eighteen years and something like 200 shows I decided enough was enough, it was time to go.

New Victory Arts Break: Explore a World of Arts will travel from continent to continent, visiting the international artists who have appeared on the New Victory stage to see what creativity, culture and community look like where they live.

BWW Reviewer Gary Naylor picks his 2019 highlights

ArtsEmerson continues its tradition of hosting world-class theatre pieces in Boston by presenting Isango Ensemble's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. The troupe, comprised of 21 black South African musicians, alternates nebulously between delivering recitative, dancing ebulliently, and playing marimbas, rawhide drums, and an eclectic mix of instruments in the on-stage orchestra. Upon entering the Cutler Majestic, the fusion of cultures is jarringa?'- an exposed stage behind an opulent proscenium arch is interrupted by simple structures of distressed wood and corrugated steel panels. The (predominantly white) audience is immediately won over by the novelty of hearing Mozart's iconic overture played entirely on wooden marimbas. The expertise of the musicians in questiona?'- as percussionists, vocalists, actors, dancers, et. ala?'- is reason enough to reserve tickets, and as the novelty of hearing western music arranged on djembes and glass bottles wears off, the precision of the performances continues to impress.

ArtsEmerson will welcome back the Isango Ensemble with their re-imagination of Mozart's classic opera, The Magic Flute, as the first of five reprise productions in its 10th Anniversary Season. The internationally celebrated group of Cape Town artists and musicians return to take on the beloved and timeless tale with marimbas, oil drums, inventive design, and bold energy, as a young prince tries to win the love of a princess whose mother is the Queen of the Night.

Isango Ensemble, the award-winning South African theatre company that draws its artists mainly from the townships surrounding Cape Town, makes its Canadian debut with the production A Man of Good Hope.

Hear the spirited sounds of South Africa in this fall's vibrant staging of Aesop's Fables by the Olivier Award-winning Isango Ensemble at The New Victory Theater from November 1 - 3, 2019. 

A MAN OF GOOD HOPE reflects the resiliency and creativity of the human spirit at every turn, while giving audiences a taste of Isango Ensemble's original methods of theatrical storytelling.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater welcomes the Olivier Award-winning Isango Ensemble to Chicago to present its acclaimed production of A Man of Good Hope, based on the book by Jonny Steinberg and adapted and directed by Mark Dornford-May. Vividly told through song and dance steeped in African traditions, the story follows one young Somali refugee's extraordinary odyssey across a continent and his unfailing hope in the face of adversity. The production will be presented for a limited engagement in the Courtyard Theater as part of the WorldStage at Chicago Shakespeare series, October 4a?"13, 2019.

As the Year of Chicago Theatre continues, Chicago theatres open the fall season with some of the most exciting theatre in the country. Offerings from the city's more than 250 producing theatres include a range of special fall programming, featuring everything from the latest musicals to highly anticipated world premieres.

Tickets to individual performances on the University Musical Society's 141st season will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, August 7, 2019. With appearances by internationally renowned orchestras, chamber musicians, dance groups, jazz and global music artists, and international theater ensembles, the UMS season spans the complete spectrum of the performing arts. A complete listing of performances in the 2019-20 season can be downloaded below as part of the full press release.

The New Victory Theater, which brings the whole world to New York families, announces its 2019-20 Season of 15 theater, opera, circus, dance and puppetry productions from nine different countries. 

TO Live announces 2019-2020 season programming, delivering on its promise to connect audiences and communities reflective of Toronto's population. Amongst its varied programming, TO Live announces the Toronto premiere of the exhibition Mandela: Struggle for Freedom, a rich sensory experience of imagery, soundscape, digital media and objects direct from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, at the Meridian Arts Centre (formerly Toronto Centre for the Arts)

With SS Mendi, a co-production with Isango Ensemble present a new staging of Peter Morgan's The Audience.

ArtsEmerson, Boston's leading presenter of contemporary world theatre, proudly announces its 10th Anniversary Season featuring five new commissioned works and five reprises from six different countries. The 2019/20 season continues ArtsEmerson's commitment to international work and to contemporary artistic forms including circus, mixed media, music theatre and first person narrative all from diverse perspectives. The landmark anniversary season will feature the world premiere of Detroit Red (produced by ArtsEmerson and written by Will Power) which uplifts Malcolm X's under-examined, life-shaping experiences as a young man who called Boston home. It will also feature the U.S. Premiere of Plata Quemada (TEATROCINEMA), the gritty true story of Argentina's most daring bank heist.

With SS Mendi, a co-production with Isango Ensemble, opening this week at Royal Opera House, Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, today announces the full cast for a new staging of Peter Morgan's The Audience. Samuel Hodges directs Lizzie Hopley as Margaret Thatcher and Bobo MacDonald, Paul Kemp as all other Prime Ministers, Sharon Singh as The Equerry and Fay Burwell and Maddie Farmer share the role of Young Elizabeth, joining the previously announced Faye Castelow as Queen Elizabeth II. The production opens on 30 May, with previews from 24 May, and runs until 22 June.

Isango Ensemble's SS Mendi: Dancing the Death Drill is a sad lament for needlessly lost lives and a celebration of the cultures from which the men had sprung. And it's ever so emotional.

Isango Ensemble bring their unique storytelling skills to show us the life of a Somali boy, alone and running away to a place that barely differs from the hell he leaves behind.

With SS Mendi, a co-production with Isango Ensemble, opening this week at Royal Opera House, Director of Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Samuel Hodges, today announces the full cast for a new staging of Peter Morgan's The Audience. Samuel Hodges directs Lizzie Hopley as Margaret Thatcher and Bobo MacDonald, Paul Kemp as all other Prime Ministers, Sharon Singh as The Equerry and Fay Burwell and Maddie Farmer share the role of Young Elizabeth, joining the previously announced Faye Castelow as Queen Elizabeth II. The production opens on 30 May, with previews from 24 May, and runs until 22 June.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces today its 2019/20 Season-featuring an expansive line-up of plays, musicals, new work, and presentations from around the globe to engage one of the broadest audiences of any theater in America today.