Reality blurs with fiction on a sea voyage from Europe to Martinique. “We use the Ship of Fools”, William Kentridge reveals, as a way to “allow questions to bubble and find answers”. For his new stage work, the South African artist and director has hired Charon, the ferryman of the Greek underworld. His passengers include notables such as writer Anna Seghers, surrealist artist André Breton and anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. These three actually did embark a ship in Marseille in 1941 to escape the Vichy regime, which cooperated with the National Socialists. But Kentridge goes beyond the historical facts and adds some more passengers, including Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker and Joséphine Bonaparte as well as Joseph Stalin and the founders of the Parisian Négritude movement, Aimé Césaire and the Nardal sisters. Kentridge’s unique aesthetic feeds into this surreal-realistic chamber opera with dance, film, oratorio and drama that shows glimpses of today’s crises.
Concept and direction: William Kentridge
Associate Directors: Nhlanhla Mahlangu and Phala O. Phala
Performance: Xolisile Bongwana, Hamilton Dhlamini, William Harding, Tony Miyambo, Nancy Nkusi and Luc de Wit
Dance: Thulani Chauke, Teresa Phuti Mojela
Choreography: Thulani Chauke and Teresa Phuti Mojela
Chorus: Anathi Conjwa, Asanda Hanabe, Zandile Hlatshwayo, Khokho Madlala, Nokuthula Magubane, Mapule Moloi and Nomathamsanqa Ngoma
Choral composition: Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Live music: Marika Hughes (cello), Nathan Koci (accordion and banjo), Tlale Makhene (percussion) and Thandi Ntuli (piano)
Musical direction: Tlale Makhene
Dramaturgy: Mwenya Kabwe
Costume design: Greta Goiris
Stage design: Sabine Theunissen
Lighting design: Urs Schönebaum and Elena Gui
Projection editing and compositing: Žana Marović, Janus Fouché and Joshua Trappler
Cinematography: Duško Marović
Video: Kim Gunning
Musical arrangements: Nathan Koci
Technical director: Mike Edelman (Boyd Design)
Production management: Brendon Boyd
Rehearsal management: Meghan Williams
Sound engineering: Gavan Eckhart
Libretto composition: Jessica Jones
Ukulele compositions: Hamilton Dhlamini
Wardrobe: Mathilde Baillarger
Props: Elisabeth Barnes-Flint
Production of the props: Chris Waldo de Wet and Jacques van Staden
Photography: Stella Olivier
Costume production: Emmanuelle Erhart and David Engler
Head of costume production: Lasha Lashvili
Studio assistance: Jessica Jones and Carla Walsh
Production: THE OFFICE performing arts + film
Co-Production: Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg (LU) and Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen (DE)
A project of the Centre for the Less Good Idea, Johannesburg (ZA), toured in partnership with Quaternaire, Paris (FR)
Lead commission: LUMA Foundation, Arles (FR)
Co-commission: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami (US), CAL Performances, Berkeley (US) and Centre D’art Battat, Montreal (CA)
Foundational commissioning support for the development and creation of The Great Yes, The Great No is provided by Brown Arts Institute at Brown University (US).
The Great Yes, The Great No was developed in residence at the Centre for the Less Good Idea, Johannesburg (ZA), and the LUMA Foundation, Arles (FR). Premiered in partnership with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (FR).
