THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT (‘TWB’) is a company that has maintained its position at the forefront of South African performance throughout its fifteen year history. The company is directed Brett Bailey and managed by Barbara Mathers (see link below for CVs and biographies).
TWB has a mission to create and present groundbreaking, multi-layered, deeply considered performance and installation works of excellence, both locally and internationally. Works that show the beauty, the wonder, the darkness and the tragedy of our world.
Our belief in the potential of art and performance to activate people, energise depressed situations, integrate the marginalised, transform and heal, underlies our ethos.
Our works foreground issues, stories and situations that are all too often overlooked, suppressed or ignored. They unpack and expose the machinations of power that crush so many people or render them voiceless.
Our main focus areas are the post-colonial situation in Africa, and historical and contemporary relations between Africa and the West.
We have a strong orientation towards fostering and exposing the talents of both performers and non-performers from disadvantaged and previously disadvantaged communities. We have have trained and worked with several thousand performers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Haiti and Europe.
We are fiercely proud of who we are, where we come from, and our right to light on the world's stages.
TWB is a Non-Profit Organisation as defined in NPO Act 71 of 1997.
BOARD MEMBERS (Bios in link at bottom of page):
-
Daniel Malatji (Chair)
Robin Jutzen (Vice Chair)
Fran Cox
Marie-lou Gillespie
Barbara Mathers
Brett Bailey
OVER THE YEARS THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT HAS BEEN GENEROUSLY SPONSORED AND SUPPORTED BY A NUMBER OF BODIES. SPECIAL MENTION MUST BE MADE OF:
- SPIER
- The National Arts Festival
- The Standard Bank Foundation
- The French Institute (IFAS)
- Pro-Helvetia Arts Council of Switzerland
- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation