How Now Brown Cow teams up with JAM and the TCC
We are excited to announce the launch of a new partnership between How Now Brown Cow productions (HNBC), the Johannesburg Awakening Minds ensemble (JAM) and the Tsikinya-Chaka Centre.
Since it was founded by Julie-Anne McDowell in 2020, HNBC has sought to promote the cause of South African theatre.
At a time when the performing arts sector is at its lowest ebb after being decimated by Covid, McDowell - herself an award-winning actress - has provided a boost to South African theatre makers through the establishment of the HNBC writers’ collective and a slate of productions lined up for the latter half of 2021.
TCC affiliate Daniel Galloway has joined McDowell as Associate Producer at HNBC.
Now, HNBC and the TCC are teaming up to support the work of the JAM ensemble.
Julie-Anne McDowell
Johannesburg Awakening Minds is a theatre company dedicated to transforming the lives of its members from destitution and homelessness to hope and opportunity through classes in acting and voice. JAM was established by doyenne of the South African stage and screen, Dorothy Ann Gould, in 2012. The company’s repertoire includes a wide range of dramatic pieces and poetry, with a strong focus on Shakespeare. Members of the group have been translating passages from Shakespeare’s plays into various South African languages, including isiZulu, isiXhosa and siSwati.
Dorothy Ann Gould and members of JAM at the company’s new home, the Windybrow Arts Centre
The Windybrow Arts Centre
In January last year, it was announced that the Windybrow Arts Centre in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, would provide rehearsal space and a “home base” for JAM. The Windybrow (a division of the Market Theatre Foundation) is located in a building with a rich history - from Randlord mansion to nursing college!
Now it will be the setting for a film shoot, as the JAM ensemble perform their Shakespeare translations for the camera. HNBC and the TCC will produce a series of short videos and a documentary demonstrating the transformative power of JAM’s multilingual Shakespeares.