Constellations: Meet The Sacred Women Of The Forest

Spier and Third World Bunfight present the third iteration of Constellations, a theatre spectacular directed by Brett Bailey. Performed in the ‘sacred wilderness’ on the banks of the Eerste River between 4 and 19 November 2022, spectators will follow a trail at nightfall to three campfires, where an all-women cast of Guardians of the forest – musicians, storytellers and performers – will provide an unforgettable experience of starlit surprises. Guests will spend about 20 minutes with four of the Guardians, but which four is the mystery?

	LUH’RA Singer/songwriter Luh’ra touches audiences with her music. The sounds of her golden guitar and Indie Soul coupled with her emotionally evocative lyrics invite listeners to reflect on their own experiences. She is fascinated by humans’ interactions with space, which has led to her performing in aquariums, galleries, plant shops and boutique stores. Now, Spier welcomes her to explore the forest. Marked as an undeniable local talent, Luh’ra has been making soundwaves across the industry.
MANDRI SUTHERLAND An actress, and voice and performance artist living in Cape Town, Mandri searches the everyday rhythm of life and seemingly unremarkable mundane events to tap into the beauty of the human experience. An inspired performer, she shares herself with audiences, inviting them into intimate moments of personal explorations, struggles and discoveries.
	NICO ATHENE Nico Athene is a body of colliding personas - a multidisciplinary artist, birth doula, embodied practitioner, and ex-sex-worker. Athene completed her MAFA at the University of Witwatersrand in 2022, where she explored identity beyond the tradable, and the opportunities for relationship in ‘capitalist wastelands’. She has been an artist in residence at Vermont Studio Centre, Arteles in Finland, the Santa Fe Art Institute USA, and Anybody Dance Lab, Cape Town.
CALIFORNIA JANSON California is a contemporary bard – a musical poet exploring the past and present with her musical identity. With her softly strummed guitar and authentic voice, California draws on the ‘inner-knowing’ to release sounds that long to be freed. Marvel at how she plays with words, rhymes, rhythms and (sur)realism.
	LORIN SOOKOOL An independent dance artist, Lorin has created an interdisciplinary practice that encompasses performance, text, sound, photography and film. In 2021, she received the Pina Bausch Fellowship for dance and choreography, which enabled her to delve deeper into improvisational dance as a decolonial practice. Lorin’s artistry is led by intuition and a process-based approach, searching for the relationship between the personal and collective.
BABALWA ZIMBINI MAKWETU Zimbini is an actress, musician, sound designer and music coach. She is also a winner of a 2019 Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for ‘best sound design, original music, soundscape/live performance’ and a nominee for the ‘best supporting actress’ at the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards in 2017. This multi-talented creative is also a part of the SAFTAs award-winning short film #wearedyinghere, which can be watched on Showmax. Find her music on all digital platforms under the name ‘Zimbini’.
	NCEBAKAZI MNUKWANA A musician and academic, Ncebakazi’s accolades are numerous. She has performed with the Queen of Xhosa music, Madosini Latozi, at the Historical Glitch at the Norval Foundation. She has been commissioned as African indigenous musician at Switzerland’s Bolwerk Festival and Woordfees Toyota Festival at Stellenbosch University, She is also the co-creator of The Weaver for the South African Strings Foundation, where she plays the Xhosa bow uhadi with a string ensemble. She is also a lecturer of Music Education at the University of Stellenbosch Music Department and a devoted advocate for indigenous music in the school curriculum.
CHÉ ADAMS Ché is a flamenco dancer and teacher based in Cape Town. She trained at Wilvan Dance Theatre and alongside several maestros in Spain. She has performed as a soloist with La Rosa Spanish Dance Company, and is the artistic director of her company and studio, Tierra Flamenca. Her work explores the relationship between music, dance and embodiment. She is deeply passionate about the healing and cathartic powers of movement and expression through dance.
	REHANE ABRAHAMS Rehane is an award-winning theatre maker, performer and writer currently engaged in PhD research at UCT. Her practice and research focus on embodied decolonisation and rituals of healing for body and land. Rehane’s ongoing training includes performance at UCT, classical Surakarta style Javanese dance and Japanese Butoh with Min Tanaka at The Body Weather Farm in Japan. Rehane is also co-founder and co-director of The Mothertongue Project.

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