Noye's Fludde is Isango Ensemble's film adaptation of the one act opera by Benjamin Britten. Sung in Xhosa, it follows the traditional
story of Noah's ark but is set in a South African township,
with Noah recast as a woman.
by Mark Dornford-May
South Africa, 2013, Short, 33mins
Starring Pauline Malefane, Mhlekazi Mosiea and Zamile Gantana.
Programer's Note
This modern adaptation of a Benjamin Britten one-act opera on the myth of Noah's flood is sung entirely in Xhosa, with South African opera star Pauline Malefane as Noah, and is a striking metaphor for man's inhumanity to man. A stunning feat from a troupe whose U-Carmen eKhayelitsha won the Golden Bear at Berlin in 2005.
Cape Town theatre company Isango Ensemble's new production Unogumbe-Noye's Fludde is a modern adaptation of a Benjamin Britten one-act opera on the myth of Noah and the flood, from the medieval Chester Mystery Cycle. Sung entirely in Xhosa, casting South African opera star Pauline Malefane as Noah, (a fantastic gender reversal), and set in Khayelitsha, one of South Africa's largest townships, Unogumbe is a striking metaphor for man's inhumanity to man. A stunning feat from the troupe whose U-Carmen eKhayelitsha was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005.
RASHA SALTI (TIFF 2013, Toronto