Cape Town Opera and Magnet Theatre to Present Musical Adaptation of HEART OF REDNESS

Cape Town Opera and Magnet Theatre are proud to present a new musical adaptation of the Zakes Mda novel HEART OF REDNESS. Shortlisted for the prestigious Commonwealth Writers Prize, Mda's novel tells the story of South African village life against the backdrop of a notorious episode from the country's past - a rivetting story from one of South Africa's greatest poets, novelists and playwrights.

In HEART OF REDNESS, Camugu, who left for America during apartheid, has returned to Johannesburg. Disillusioned by the problems of the new democracy, he travels to the remote Eastern Cape where, in the nineteenth century, a teenage prophetess named Nonqawuse commanded the Xhosa people to kill their cattle and burn their crops, promising that once they did so the spirits of their ancestors would rise and drive the occupying English into the ocean. The failed prophecy split the Xhosa into Believers and Unbelievers, dividing brother from brother, wife from husband, with devastating consequences. One hundred and fifty years later, the two groups' descendants are at odds over plans to build a vast casino and tourist resort in the village, and Camugu is soon drawn into their heritage and their future. HEART OF REDNESS shifts back and forth between the present day and the time of the Xhosa prophetess, Nonqawuse, between myth and history, culminating in a modern day dilema of heritage and traditional values versus development and growth.

The multi-talented 15-member cast comprises of Magnet Theatre and UCT Drama School graduates and some of the Cape Town Opera's youngest members who have come together to perform in this new production under the direction of Mark Fleishman with music by Neo Muyanga, movement direction by Jennie Reznek and designs by Craig Leo. On the matter of whether the adaptation is an opera or a musical, Fleishman says, "HEART OF REDNESS is hard to define and package neatly under a single unambiguous descriptor. And that is exactly what we are trying to achieve - a something in-between that takes cognisance of various styles without settling comfortably into any one of them. It has elements of operatic, choral and traditional music styles to present a unique yet highly entertaining piece that is sure to delight audiences."

For the remainder of the 2015 season, Cape Town Opera has teamed up with some of SA's leading creative artists to produce two proudly African productions following HEART OF REDNESS: THE MERRY WIDOW OF MALAGAWI, an adaptation of the Franz Lehár classic under the direction of Janice Honeyman, which premieres at the Artscape Opera House on 5 September and runs through 12 September and the staging of FOUR:30 which introduces four new home-grown opera's on one bill at the Artscape Theatre from 21 November to 28 November. In between, Gaetano Donizetti's MARIA STUARDA will play the Artscape Theatre on 7 and 8 November. Funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, these productions proudly showcase South Africa's finest and in some instances, newest operatic talent, setting the tone for greater opera performances in 2016.

Sponsored by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, Magnet Theatre, The Fugard, Rand Merchant Bank and the HCI Foundation, HEART OF REDNESS is on stage at the Fugard Theatre from the 19-22 August 2015 for four performances only, all commencing at 19h30. Tickets are on sale at Computicket.