Lights! Camera! Palesa!

The Annual Palesa Theatre Festival took place from 26 April to 29 April. Palesa, previously known as Toneelfees, is a cultural event whereby students are given the platform to display their acting abilities. The winner of the Palesa Theatre Festival is afforded a guaranteed spot to perform at the annual Woordsfees.

Michaela Eichel, executive member of KUKO, SU SRC Cultural Portfolio, said, “The Palesa Theatre festival is an annual friendly competition where residences and PSOs write, direct and perform original plays allowing for creative expression and a memorable bonding experience.”

Further, Eichel said, “This year’s Palesa festival was the first theatre festival that was able to take place without any Covid-19 restrictions or the fear of public gatherings since 2019.”

This year proved that the cultural scene within Stellenbosch has been reignited. Simonsberg Residence stole the show by winning the majority of the applicable categories; best overall production, best directing, best ensemble, best audio/visual production, best supporting actor, and best comedy. Not to mention, their director, Reeder Vermaak, was also awarded best dressed audience member! Vermaak said, “The organisational ability of this year’s KUKO is exceptional, I’ve been involved in most Kuko arranged events over my three years of study at Stellenbosch and this year’s organisational efforts have been world class!”

Vermaak stated that the provision of a well-organised Palesa Theatre Festival truly afforded students the privilege of expressing their creativity. The Simonsberg production, The Session, followed the experiences of individuals during Welcoming Week as they navigated the newness of university and the independence which came with it.

When asked about why he believed their performance stood out, Vermaak said that their play was written by the cast members and derived from stories from Simonsberg residence. This created the space to craft something that every audience member could relate to. He further emphasised, “The creative power of collaboration also should not be underestimated. This play was created by combining the experiences of multiple people from completely different backgrounds and beliefs and that only added to the relatability of our play and the sense of authenticity we were able to portray on stage.”

Given its the first year postCovid-19 , Eichel commented, “There are many older students that still remember the cultural scene pre-Covid but there are many newer students that have never experienced a completely unrestricted KUKO event. It is our job to ensure the success of these events which would, in turn, ensure the success of future events.”

The next anticipated cultural event this year will be SU Acapella which will occur in August.

Given the impeccable start to the cultural season through Molasseser, Debating and Palesa Theatre Festival, one can only expect an exciting season ahead.