The inaugural Artfluence Human Rights Festival, presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, will culminate with the announcement of yet one more new festival to be added to the Centre’s bouquet of annual festivals.
The Cabaret and Beyond (CAB) Festival will be an annual event aimed at bringing together music theatre creatives from across South Africa.
It will promote, develop and commission new compositions and writing within the broad spectrum of musical theatre, cabaret and music-related storytelling.
The centre’s director, Ismail Mahomed, explained that after watching a preview of an extract of “Stories 2020”, produced by Roland Perold and which will be presented at the opening of the Artfluence Human Rights Festival, the idea was inspired for creating a dedicated platform for musical theatre-makers and composers.
Perold, the producer of “Stories 2020”, is the curator for the Cabaret and Beyond Festival. Perold is an accomplished musician, performer, and songwriter, having received his M.Mus in Songwriting from Bath Spa University (U.K) with distinction and mounting several original chamber musicals locally. He recently joined the University of Kwazulu-Natal as a lecturer in the music department.
“By creating a dedicated festival to engage in nurturing and supporting skills development, as well as showcasing exceptional quality work in musical theatre writing, CAB will be able to grow and serve its audience simultaneously”, said Perold.
Composers, writers and practitioners are invited to attend the launch of the CAB Festival during a webinar at the Artfluence Human Rights Festival featuring Neo Muyanga, Marcel Meyer and Emma van Heyn discussing the status quo for new music theatre writing in South Africa.