
Rain in a Dead Man&rsquo;s Footprints is the sixth collaboration between Alfred Hinkel of Jazzart and Mark Fleishman of Magnet Theatre, a partnership that has produced some of South Africa&rsquo;s most acclaimed productions such as&nbsp;Medea,Vlam,&nbsp;Cold Water/Thirsty Souls&nbsp;and community-based projects such as the Clanwilliam Arts Project.Rain in a Dead Man&rsquo;s Footprints&nbsp;developed out of research done and skills honed on collaborations like the 1995 production of&nbsp;The Sun, the Moon and the Knife&nbsp;and the 1999 outdoor production of&nbsp;Vlam.&nbsp;The Sun, the Moon and the Knife&nbsp;was based on Return of the Moon: versions of poems by the /Xam people of the Northern Cape that were translated by Stephen Watson. They were narrated by tribe members //Kabbo, /Han#kasso and Dia!kwain, who were interviewed and recorded by Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd in the late 19th century. These created the platform for the creative presentation of aspects of their stories with the help of Craig Leo&rsquo;s skills in puppetry, aerial, circus and illusion work and the musical talents of Neo Muyanga, a founder member of blk sonshine.Vlam&nbsp;was held on 16 December 1999 (Reconciliation Day) in a large vacant lot in District Six. It featured large sculptural objects, backpack puppets, musical instruments made from PVC plumbing pipes, fire performance techniques, lanterns, dance and music. Some of these elements have also been used in the Clanwilliam Arts Project, a collaboration among Professor John Parkington (Archeology Department, University of Cape Town), Professor Pippa Skotnes, (Michaelis School of Fine Arts), Jazzart Dance Theatre, Namjive and Magnet Theatre. It aims to return the heritage of the rock art of Clanwilliam to the community.Rain in a Dead Man&rsquo;s Footprints is the sixth collaboration between Alfred Hinkel of Jazzart and Mark Fleishman of Magnet Theatre, a partnership that has produced some of South Africa&rsquo;s most acclaimed productions such as&nbsp;Medea,Vlam,&nbsp;Cold Water/Thirsty Souls&nbsp;and community-based projects such as the Clanwilliam Arts Project.Rain in a Dead Man&rsquo;s Footprints&nbsp;developed out of research done and skills honed on collaborations like the 1995 production of&nbsp;The Sun, the Moon and the Knife&nbsp;and the 1999 outdoor production of&nbsp;Vlam.&nbsp;The Sun, the Moon and the Knife&nbsp;was based on Return of the Moon: versions of poems by the /Xam people of the Northern Cape that were translated by Stephen Watson. They were narrated by tribe members //Kabbo, /Han#kasso and Dia!kwain, who were interviewed and recorded by Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd in the late 19th century. These created the platform for the creative presentation of aspects of their stories with the help of Craig Leo&rsquo;s skills in puppetry, aerial, circus and illusion work and the musical talents of Neo Muyanga, a founder member of blk sonshine.Vlam&nbsp;was held on 16 December 1999 (Reconciliation Day) in a large vacant lot in District Six. It featured large sculptural objects, backpack puppets, musical instruments made from PVC plumbing pipes, fire performance techniques, lanterns, dance and music. Some of these elements have also been used in the Clanwilliam Arts Project, a collaboration among Professor John Parkington (Archeology Department, University of Cape Town), Professor Pippa Skotnes, (Michaelis School of Fine Arts), Jazzart Dance Theatre, Namjive and Magnet Theatre. It aims to return the heritage of the rock art of Clanwilliam to the community.The richness of imagery in /Xam storytelling and the sophisticated nature of their extensive non-verbal communication made&nbsp;Rain in a Dead Man&rsquo;s Footprints&nbsp;the perfect vehicle for translation into performance. The work is a theatrical journey into the many legends and beliefs of the /Xam that through illusion, movement, words, song and imagery, invites the audience to contemplate what was lost and has been found; what once was and what now exists.&nbsp;
