Interview: Carlo Daniels, talks about No Complaints, – a new day, new dawn – invigorating staging, ingenious response to Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days– nabbing Daniels a nomination as Best Director for the 58th Flur du Cap Theatre Awards
At the end of November, 2022, I saw No Complaints – a new day, new dawn – at Theatre Arts, Cape Town- directed and written by Carlo Daniels. No Complaints is Daniels’ response to Samuel Beckett’s play, Happy Days [1961]. The season of No Complaints was made possible by Theatre Arts Emerging Director Bursary 2022 and was staged in the flurry of festive season offerings. Performances were cancelled because of a taxi strike in Cape Town. The strike meant that actors could not get transport to the theatre. There was loadshedding [electricity outages for those readers, from abroad] and that complicated the schedule. Still, those of us who are familiar with Carlo Daniels, knew that we had to get there. As a theatre maker, Daniels moves seamlessly from performing (drama, musical theatre, physical theatre) to directing and writing. He not only directed No Complaints but wrote the script – about 50% of Beckett’s dialogue and 50% of his own. In November 2022, I raved in my review: “You MUST go and see this extraordinary piece of theatre.” Scroll down, for the review link.
Daniels was in conversation with TheCapeRobyn, when the announcement came out of the nominations for the 58th Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, which will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday March 26, 2023 at Oude Libertas Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch. Daniels has been nominated in three FDC categories: Best Director for No Complaints, Best Supporting Actor for multiple roles in The Unlikely Secret Agent and Best Performance in an Ensemble – Life and Times of Michael K. This interview goes out as celebration of Carlo Daniels – creative extraordinaire – and his directorial triumph with No Complaints. This interview is also a tribute to the incomparable Caroline Calburn of Theatre Arts- for her zeal and passion in driving the Emerging Theatre Bursary and for facilitating Theatre Arts as a vital space for new work and importantly, finding the money to make productions a reality, with attention to design and production excellence. Kudos to the Fleur du Cap Theatre Award judges for nominating Daniels as director and Themba Stewart for his set design. Daniels chose Happy Days as a springboard for his play, No Complaints as it circles “around themes of existentialism, being stuck in life, in relationships physically, emotionally and repetition.” It is a play very much for our times and under the eye of Carlo Daniels, it is a play which resonates profoundly, riffing off Cape Town and its people, searching for happy days; with a wry banter that they have “no complaints”.
Selecting Happy Days as a springboard- conversation which is very relevant for us as a society
What led you to select Beckett’s text as a springboard, to create your own play as a theatre maker in Cape Town 2022, by responding to his play, Happy Days [1961?]
Carlo Daniels: On choosing No Complaints: It was quite a brainstorm- choosing a play to go with since there are so many good works out there. It took me a while to decide, but Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days was something that had a big impact on me. I knew that this play is not exactly everyone’s taste. The original version is very wordy and a bit static. But, it was such a powerful piece of work by Samuel Beckett. It was a play perfect for the times it needed to have a fresh approach, but the conversation it had was very relevant for us as a society. The writing was/is sharp as a knife. Also, the themes, I really related with on a personal level. I wanted to try and have this conversation. I was always going to adapt it, according to the vision I had for it and since it was difficult to get full rights to put up Happy Days, I decided to create a response to Happy Days in No Complaints. It circled around themes of existentialism, being stuck in life, in relationships physically, emotionally and repetition.
Samuel Beckett as an artist in his time and place Carlo Daniels as an artist in his time and country
Can you talk about the framing of Happy Days now in South Africa and from your gaze- as an artist?
Carlo Daniels: I really love Happy Days as a play and Samuel Beckett as a writer. Then there is Beckett as an artist in his time and place etc and me as an artist in my time and country etc. There are all the reasons that I look over to Beckett and start to speak and ask questions, too many: I ask and I see how Beckett gives me only a witty grin as an answer, when “he knows” I want to hear it from the horse’s mouth. So in between the lines, there I scratch for answers concerning many things, just things: impersonal and personal. I think about it and see it, then dissect it as maybe a thousand-piece puzzle, then all of a sudden, I cause a problem for myself because why do I do all of this? Can I not just take Beckett’s text and direct it as is: NO I can’t! There is much more I want to do with it in terms of expression, I am not Beckett, I cannot say exactly what he says as he says it, but I wanted to show him how interestingly he lit my mind with what he said through Happy Days, so now we are talking and I am still forming answers to the things the old man throws at me. I decide to take my issue to the open floor in the theatre and explore physically, practically, with what I have to make a response, with my voice, my body, my identity, my context, my spirit communicate with spirit. On the outside of all this, it takes good dramaturgy and good producing to form a title and good production as a body and a vehicle to contain the work.
Emerging Theatre Director Bursary to a nomination as Best Director for 58th Fleur Du Cap Theatre Awards
In order to meet the criteria for consideration for The Emerging Theatre Director, run by Theatre Arts, one must have directed between one and three productions, so the bursary is not for newbies. Still, it must have been a thrill to get the nod by the FDC panel of judges – for a play produced and staged on the TA Emerging Director bursary platform?
Carlo Daniels: I cannot begin to describe how proud I am on the FDC nominations for our production of No Complaints, New Day, New Dawn. The team has without a doubt contributed to this proud moment. I’m so grateful for Theatre Arts and Caroline [Calburn] for the platform and for Fleur Du Cap Theatre Awards for taking the time and acknowledging the work. This effort and interest form the basis for theatre in Cape Town and South Africa. So, I am only grateful for this moment. I am very sure I will become super nervous when the big day arrives – I am laughing for the silliness of all the nerves of the big day. In all honesty we should not be nerves but should be proud of the nominations and it shows that there is potential in the work and that we don’t need to stop or give up. There is always room to grow.
The future of No Complaints – opportunities in the future
Has the season at Theatre Arts and being awarded the bursary, generated interest for staging No Complaints, on other stages?
Carlo Daniels: Having the play itself and doing the run has definitely given us a chance to have built a piece of work and also to test it. It did very well. We haven’t been specifically offered a next opportunity to play, but now since we have the play we can apply for festivals and other opportunities. Theatre Arts also helped in creating a package of the plays so that always helps in doing application or selling the show in future. For me personally, it established me more as a director and while I am sure I will direct more work. So, because we played at end of 2022, it gives more opportunity for 2023: we have something all we need now is a chance. I would say as a result of the bursary it does come with many other opportunities.
Theatre Arts and the Director bursary – an incubator for creativity – with support and backup
Can you talk about the process of staging a play on the Theatre Arts Emerging Director’s Bursary- securing rights, casting and building your production?
Carlo Daniels: Working with Caroline [Calburn] is a great joy, she is the heartbeat of Theatre Arts. Caroline walked this whole process with us. There was not a step without her. I really appreciate that/ I felt backed and supported. One of the first challenges I had for the Director’s bursary was choosing a play. Caroline knows lots of plays and reads them in no time. She also has a library that she knows extremely well, and there is a little something for all of us. She took me on many tours in the library, which at glance looks small until Caroline takes you on the tour. There are treasures and so it becomes a treasure hunt. Then next getting the rights, which I have never done in my life and had no idea where to start to be honest. I remember Caroline contacting people and trying so hard to see what the best option for us would be and what would make sense for us to do. With casting we went back and forth: Should I do auditions or not. I ended up approaching actors I would like to work with on this work and so slowly thing was starting to take shape. The part that was really exciting was that I had a budget and I could manage to get a designer for set and lighting, I really loved that because we hardly get enough these days to give a piece the full vision. For me, this was awesome, a great blessing, theatre getting the attention it needs. The bursary is fun and challenging but mostly fun. Any young director would enjoy the bursary. I am sure in years to come it will get even more exciting. I certainly want to see the work young directors, after me, come up with in the Emerging Director’s Bursary.
Theatre Arts is doing great independent work. There are loads of other programmes they have on the go, which make a difference: Change is what they make. Already they make change, but I can see how they will make even more and bigger change when more people and artists know about what is happening in the space. I will always look out for what is happening there. In a country/government which shows no care for artists in the theatre; with greedy politicians, we need something kind of support around us, a platform to talk, in multiple languages, a space to meet and inspire, a space to work or seek opportunity, a library, guidance, skills classes that considers our financial realities and Theatre Arts is one such place.
| About Theatre Arts Emerging Director Bursary- Theatre Arts in Observatory, Cape Town The bursary at a glance – and then read on for more The bursary was established in 2010, a year after Theatre Arts Admin Collective was formed, says Theatre Art’s Caroline Calburn. The name, Theatre Arts Admin Collective was subsequently, shortened to Theatre Arts. Caroline Calburn: The bursary is a national programme. The call goes out nationally to directors who have directed between 1 and 3 productions, preferably at a professional level, although we do consider a production in final year of study. The bursary covers fees and production costs and we stretch and squeeze it to cover travel costs for out of towners. Most of the bursary winners who are from out of town, stay with me. If anyone would like to read up about any of the bursary productions, this is a good link to follow – TA Emerging Theatre Director’s Bursary Alumni – Theatre Arts Are there any other similar bursaries in South Africa? Caroline Calburn: Not that I know of. I know that the Market Lab has an annual residency for a young creative to explore a new piece of work, supported by the Barney Simon Trust. Magnet Theatre also offered a resident director, but am not sure if it is still in existence or what the details of it are, But that is all that I know of in terms of creating space and opportunity for emerging directors. This is a time when the arts needs bursaries like this and there are not many platforms for creatives? Caroline Calburn: We are leaching the most amazing creatives, particularly directors, to other jobs, which is heart breaking. Directors are the heartbeat of the theatre industry. And the theatre industry is the heart of our cultural selves. Here is where we reckon with the world and with ourselves and our place in the world. We dive deep into our language, our emotional charge and our spirit. Neglecting the theatre is in a sense a neglect of our full selves, and as our country is becoming more fractured by violence, we are becoming more fractured and distanced from ourselves, less caring. The absolute lack of funding for theatre, and often the callous way in which the arts are funded, represents this. It is more about the numbers and the auditors than it is about the essentialness of culture, language and meaning in our lives. The Afrikaans theatre is flourishing because it puts the preservation of language at its centre. English theatre is totally neglected, and support for theatre that puts African languages at its centre is almost non-existent. A short history of Theatre Arts Emerging Director Bursary There were no award winners in 2019 – 2021. You said: “I brought the bursary to an end in 2018 and then saw the need to revive it.” So you revived it – last year 2022. Can you tell as about halting the bursary in 2018 and reviving it in 2022 and now in 2023, celebrating 13 years of the bursary? Caroline Calburn: In 2018 funding for the bursary essentially came to an end. I also believed that the bursary had done its job by bringing a greater focus to emerging directors within the industry. It had felt as though other theatres were beginning to pick up on the clarion call and create space. But the more I spoke to past winners and to the generation passing through Theatre Arts’ blue doors, the more I realised that this in fact was not the case in terms of their experience. And then I got a phone call out of the blue, which changed all that for me- the very sad death of Gordon Hirschowitz, for whom theatre had been a balm in his life, brought money into Theatre Arts and this enabled me to continue with the bursary. How is the Emerging Theatre Directors Bursary funded? Caroline Calburn: The bursary began in 2010 with funding from GIPCA, now the ICA, and with support in terms of resources, from The Baxter Theatre. As GIPCA came to an end, Distell stepped in and supported the bursary for five years. To supplement the Distell funding, in 2016 we launched an extremely successful crowdfunding campaign, mostly supported by artists in the industry, both locally and abroad. The Distell funding came to an end in 2018. A bursary production costs R60 000. This enables a director to create a new piece of work, pay actors, a designer and other support. Theatre Arts contributes, filling in the gaps of the budget. This is a tiny budget to make a new piece of work, but the impact that it has, is often huge. Directors employ people. To build the industry we need to be building directors and producers. Criteria to qualify for the bursary? One can be from anywhere in the country? One must have directed at least one work? Does the bursary cover travel and accommodation costs -if one is not residing in Cape Town? Salaries for actors and creative team and rights to plays? Caroline Calburn: The bursary is a national programme. The call goes out nationally to directors who have directed between one and three productions, preferably at a professional level, although we do consider a production in final year of study. The bursary covers fees and production costs and we stretch and squeeze it to cover travel costs for out of towners. Mostly, bursary winners who are from out of town, stay with me. There are two of us who do the initial selection to create the short list, and then a panel who do the final selection. I spend a lot of time speaking to applicants referees which is always the most amazing experience – learning about someone through the experience of another. The selection process is as rigorous as we can make it. There are always so many things to consider. Every artist’s trajectory in the industry is different, so we try to spread opportunity where we can, as there really are so many talented young artists. One wants to enable as many as possible to get beyond the ‘sprouting’ stage. Thirteen years of the Emerging Theatre Directors Bursary Looking back – reflecting on hosting this important award in the last 13 years? Caroline Calburn: This bursary has been one of the most incredible experiences for me. In retrospect, it has created the most extraordinary web of creatives across the country, which I’m hoping will start to reap benefits. As one of the bursary winners said recently in a conversation, the bursary is a long-term plan. Many of the winners are moving into places of influence now, and because they were recipients of the bursary they inherently trust the calibre of other winners. I think that the Joburg based winners have benefitted the most from the bursary as they have had the opportunity to spread roots into a second city and make it a creative home. Most of them now work in both cities. The Cape Town recipients have not had that same opportunity. I have wanted, for many years, to have a partner in Joburg, which enables a Cape Town based winner to create their bursary production in Joburg. This city cross-fertilisation is so important- particularly as both cities produce very different types of artists. Applying for Theatre Arts’ Emerging Theatre Directors Bursary 2023 Have the applications passed for consideration for the 2023 bursary. Is it an open call? Caroline Calburn: The call for 2023 has not gone out yet, for a number of reasons. Selection is based on application only. Info here: TA Emerging Theatre Director’s Bursary Alumni – Theatre Arts Recipients of Theatre Arts’ Emerging Theatre Directors Bursary- unless otherwise stated, the artists are from Cape Town 2010 – Amy Jephta, Tara Notcutt, Asanda Phewa 2011 – Pusetso Thibedi (Jhb), Kim Kerfoot, Leopold Senekal, Tsepo wa Mamatu (Jhb) 2012 – Nicola Elliott, Lidija Marelic (Jhb), Khayelihle Dom Gumede (Jhb) and Thando Doni 2013 – Alan Parker, Bulelani Mabutyana, Thenjiwe Stemela and Phala Ookeditse Phala (Jhb) 2016 – Jason Jacobs, Wynne Bredenkamp, Ameera Conrad, Mahlatsi Mokgonyana (Jhb) 2017 – Nwabisa Plaatjie, Thando Mangcu 2018 – Qondiswa James, Thembela Madliki (E Cape) 2022 – Dintshitile Mashile (Jhb), Carlo Daniels |
Theatre Arts on social media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheatreArtsObs/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatrearts.obs/ Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/theatreartsct Telegram Channel: https://t.me/theatreartsupcomingshows Website: https://theatrearts.co.za/ Info: caroline@theatrearts.co.za or call 082 752 1376 |
✳ Featured image- Carlo Daniels, November 2022, Theatre Arts, Cape Town. His play, No Complaints, – a new day, new dawn– was staged at Theatre Arts in Cape Town in November 2022. The play is a response to Samuel Beckett’s play, Happy Days. The production was made possible by The Emerging Director Bursary which is awarded by Theatre Arts. Pic: © TheCapeRobyn/Robyn Cohen, November 2022. Review of No Complaints – November 2022: https://thecaperobyn.co.za/review-no-complaints-new-day-new-dawn-extraordinary-theatre-experience-igniting-light-in-a-time-of-darkness/
