Woyzeck on the Highveld

Bookings: unima2008 | Bocs Ticketing | BOCS: (08) 9484 1133
Tickets available on the door, unless sold out prior to the event


Directed and designed by acclaimed artist William Kentridge, this is spectacular and cutting edge theatre.

Woyzeck on the Highveld is a compelling tale of jealousy, murder and the struggle of an individual against an uncaring society which ultimately destroys him.

This ground-breaking adaptation of German writer Georg Buchner's famous play Woyzeck portrays the character, Woyzeck, as a black migrant worker living in a landscape of barren industrialisation. As a servant in 1956 Johannesburg, the potency of Woyzeck as a puppet resonates beyond apartheid to any brutalised society.

With exquisitely carved puppets and visible puppeteers, the dramatic characters of the doomed Woyzeck; Maria, the prostitute he loves; the Miner, who seduces Maria; and the bored Captain, whom Woyzeck serves; are brought to life with precision and beauty.

Woyzeck on the Highveld seamlessly navigates rod-manipulated puppets and animated film to graphically illustrate Woyzeck's tortured mind as he tries to make sense of his external circumstances.

Kentridge’s stunningly animated charcoal drawings combined with impressive puppetry, makes this a pioneering milestone which explores the boundaries of adult puppet theatre within an African context. Woyzeck on the Highveld was the first collaboration between Handspring and Kentridge.

Be transported to a world where the visual and performing arts converge.

“The arresting multimedia production, with nearly life-size wooden puppets playing out the tragedy against a backdrop of ominous black-and-white video animation to the accompaniment of haunting African music…Woyzeck on the Highveld provides an ample display of the power of puppetry.”

New York Times | USA

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