William Kentridge and the countries willing to sell their souls to the devil

BarcelonaExactly 30 years ago, South African creators William Kentridge, Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones premiered Faustus in Africa!, a show that would become an emblem of their company, the Handspring Puppet Company. It was 1995 and their country had just experienced its first post-apartheid elections, which gave victory to Nelson Mandela. In that context, the trio of artists covered the Splendor by Goethe to immerse him in the setting of the African continent, imagining a Faust who goes on safari after signing a pact with the devil and becomes a metaphor for colonialism. Three decades later, the company has reworked the show to give it new life. The new production premiered on May 1 in Cape Town (South Africa) and arrives in Barcelona this Friday and Saturday, as part of the Grec Festival.

"The original production took place at an important historical moment in South Africa: the era of the drafting of our first democratic Constitution. We were beginning the process of our decolonization, and many politicians were making terrifying compromises," Jones and Kohler recall in an interview with ARA. How does that first version connect with the current moment? According to the directors, its relevance has not been lost. "The colonization of Africa reflected in the work appears as a metaphor for the neocolonialism practiced by powerful countries worldwide. Today, entire countries seem willing to sell their souls to the devil. It is more urgent than ever to raise awareness about these Faustian pacts and the price they impose on the world's ecosystems," he stated.

Puppets to travel back in time

The Handspring Puppet is one of the world's leading puppet companies and one of the pioneers in using puppets within conventional theater shows. "If well designed and skillfully manipulated, puppets are capable of generating a new, compelling hyperreality that transports us back to ancient times, when we believed things like rivers, trees, and storms had lives of their own," note Jones and Kohler. The show features puppets as the protagonists, but there's also a new soundtrack and a new cast. In addition, William Kentridge created the animations, which have now been digitally restored to give them "a richer, more vibrant look." After touring Barcelona, Faustus in Africa! will continue to tour Naples, will be seen at the Edinburgh International Festival and in September will be at the Paris Automobile Festival.