School Performance: Isango Ensemble: Aesop's Fables (KCYS)

This performance is part of the Krannert Center Youth Series, school-day performances for public, private, and home schools, grades PreK-12.

Isango Ensemble came to life in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2000—the creation of director Mark Dornford-May and music director Pauline Malefane, who draw artists from surrounding townships to reimagine the Western theatre canon within a South African setting. Isango Ensemble brought Krannert Center audiences joyfully to their feet in 2014, and the company returns to the Center with its vibrant and comedic turn on Aesop’s Fables. Based on a brilliant script from playwright Peter Terson, the expressive tale portrays the ancient Greek story of a servant on a journey to Mount Olympus, contextualized in the recent history of South Africa and sung in English, Tswana, and Zulu. Travel with Aesop as he encounters a host of colorful animal characters like the tortoise and the hare and learns the balance of liberty and responsibility in this contemporary, playfully energetic, and beautifully rendered music, theatre, and dance production.

Connects to Illinois Learning Standards in Fine Arts, Social/Emotional Learning, and Social Sciences.

Recommended for grades 1-5.
Performance length: 70 minutes

Learn more about the Krannert Center Youth Series.