Iain Ewok Robinson in Spitfire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JO2DbGBpwo

Do What I Please Productions is the award-winning collaboration between writer, poet, emcee, teacher, actor, musician, artist, community and hip hop activist (sheesh) IAIN EWOK ROBINSON and director, teacher, writer and performer LIBBY ALLEN. Ewok and Libby have worked together since late 2005, when Ewok approached Libby to direct his first one-man hip hop theatre performance, One Mind, One Mouth, One Mic. The piece debuted at PANSA’s Musho! Festival in Durban, 2006, where it received an Audience Choice Award, as well as acknowledgement for bringing new types of audiences into the formal theatre setting. One Mind played at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, 2006, and at the Uplands and Cape Town Festivals; as well as travelling to schools throughout KwaZulu-Natal, to Botswana, and to Educators’ Training Days in Durban and Pretoria. During the creation and touring of this production, Ewok and Libby created Poetry off the Page, a performance, writing and self-expression workshop geared toward high school and university students. The workshop, as well as One Mind, One Mouth, One Mic, enjoyed great response at the Standard Bank Regional and National Schools’ Festivals and Kearsney College’s Upbeat Festival. Such is the prolific nature of Ewok’s writing, that Spitfire was created shortly after One Mind, again opening at the Musho! Festival, in 2007. Here, the company was awarded the Audience Choice award for the festival, as well as the Suliman ‘Pick of the Festival’ trophy. Spitfire, like its predecessor, has performed to schools locally and abroad (Uppsala International Poetry Festival, Sweden: 2008), often teamed with the Poetry off the Page workshops. Ewok and Libby have also created and produced BombStyle (Audience Selection: Musho! 2008), in which their style of hip hop theatre took on a different nature with the introduction of Durban actor and comedian, Liam Magner of the Neon Anthems- on stage with Ewok. The piece also featured sound design by DJ Veranda Panda and audio-visual elements by Karen Logan.

Spitfire continues to tour locally and abroad … mo’ fire.

For information and bookings please email us at: misslibbyallen@gmail.com

Uppsala, Sweden, 2008

In September 2006, Ewok was invited to assemble a group with whom he would travel and perform as part of the Uppsala International Poetry Festival in Uppsala, Sweden. Along with him went Libby Allen, Miles Pygmy Macdonald and Nathan KingB Redpath. The group spent two weeks in Sweden, travelling and performing in theatres, schools and clubs. As part of the festival’s programme, they teamed with four Swedish writers and musicians, who would then accompany them back to Durban, South Africa for a similar tour on SA soil and participation in the Centre For Creative Arts’ Poetry Africa Festival.

So, it seemed the Swedes became fans, extending invitation to Ewok and Libby for a return tour in October 2008, where Ewok would perform Spitfire as one of the main acts on the Regina Teatern Stage. As part of the trip, the pair also conducted Poetry off the Page, performance and self-expression workshops ,with school pupils in Uppsala.

http://neil.iaminawe.com/2007/10/23/ewoks-oddessy/, also featured in The Independent on Saturday

Interview with MC- Iain Robinson about his show “Spitfire’

Iain Robinson aka Ewok Baggends asks a lot of questions. He opens our interview with a question. ‘I want to know,’ he smirks ‘why, when I’ve launched two successful shows, am getting an anthology of my poetry published this year by Echoing Green, releasing a solo album ‘Higher Flier for Hire’ and in the coming months taking part in a major Graffiti art exhibition in Kimberly. Why, with all these things on the go, can I still not cover my monthly rent?’

Anyone present at the recent Musho festival to witness Robinson’s new piece ‘Spitfire’ would no doubt find it difficult question to answer. It’s a testimony to his talents’ that despite the broken air conditioner, the sweltering mid January heat, Robinsons audience barely paused to breathe, let alone fidget or fan themselves with festival programs. To watch Robinson perform is to watch a man in command, in charge- possessed. No discomfort index can take that away from him. To bare witness to such a force, is to be shaken, devastated, enlightened, elated.

Daily News critic Gisele Turner nailed it when she labelled him ‘A dangerous talent’ –‘No mealie mouthed sex boy rubbing himself up against bad boy pleasures, but a passionate voice hitched to a genuine conscience. Robinson will change opinions, form new thought patterns , mission in trackless jungles, forge treaties with fiery lashings of his tongue and the innocence of his truth.’

There should be no reason why such a talent is not gracing international stages, being snapped up by hot shot publishers, playing to packed theatres’ across the globe! Robinson has worked hard enough to be tackling bigger issues, raising questions more pressing then those concerning his monthly rent. It’s not that he’s complaining, rather, understandably, remains a little bemused.

This is after all a passion he’s been nurturing for some time. ‘In the early days at school I just wanted to rhyme, to rap.’ he explains ‘Poetry Africa’ were the first people in this town to turn around to me and invite me to perform under the banner of poet. With that title came a whole new understanding, a responsibility behind what I was saying.’

It’s an art form Robinson claims to have existed since time immemorial. ‘What I do is connected to something that goes beyond the written word’ he says ‘When they talk about the Minstrels and Greek story tellers, the guys that memorized and told their societies histories. This has been something that has been around for centuries. The spoken word artists, the poets, the M.C’s they’re still fulfilling those roles. They are the speakers for the people, trying to translate what’s going on in the world, commenting on a changing society and recording a new history.’

I mention that I found ‘Spitfire’ to be a much rawer, edgier piece then its predecessor ‘One Mind, One Mouth, One Mic’. Where as before Robinson was brimming with an exuberant optimism for South Africa, the world around him, ‘Spitfire’ features him asking dangerous questions, wrestling bigger issues, unearthing frustrations only touched on previously.

‘These shows are a natural evolution for me. I’m learning with each one. ‘One Mind’ focused on the Hip –Hop aspect of what I do. There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding Hip- Hop. So Libby Allen (Robinson’s director) and I used the first show to dispel certain myths surrounding the genre. Bring people closer to where we eventually wanted to go with it.’

Using ‘One Mind’ as a type of Hip- Hop 101 instilled in Robinson and his director Allen, the confidence to push further boundaries. With ‘Spitfire’ he seldom relies on the microphone (a permanent feature in the last) or those impressive ‘wicky wicky’ vocal tricks, rather Robinson and his director trust implicitly in their material- the dexterity and weight of his finely tuned and rapidly fired words. Gone is the baggy hoody, any remnants of bling or artifice. The MC Guise now relinquished to reveal a sublimely talented and assured young poet. ‘Spitfire’ tells it like it is.

‘I have grown more confident to trust the words and not just the medium’ Robinson explains. ‘The poet is more the everyman while the MC from the first show was the showman. This is the natural evolution of what I’m doing.’

This is not to say ‘Spitfire’ sacrifices the theatricality for which Robinson and Allen’s collaborations have become renowned. If anything, Robinson’s pieces are distinctive in their blurring of boundaries, fusing of genres, uniting and appealing to both hip hop and theatre audiences.

‘There’s definitely a theatricality to it.’ he explains ‘You have to be sensitive to the fact that not many people can sit and listen to someone slamming or talking for an hour. With ‘Spitfire’ Libby and I took our cue from comic books. It’s an alter ego thing as Clark Kent is to Superman; Bruce Wayne to Batman, the hustler character is to the poet ‘Spitfire’. The hustler character is trying to understand what his purpose is, trying to make sense of the world, finding that idea worth selling. No one should be allowed to just pick up a microphone; they must first learn to understand the responsibility that comes with that.’

No stranger to the local theatre scene, Robinson has appeared in productions ranging from the annual Actor’s Co -Op Shakespeare set work (Macbeth, King Lear) to the Playhouse Company’s festive season musical ‘My Fair Lady’.

‘My Fair Lady?’ I laugh, ‘I never thought I would see the day- M.C extraordinaire- Ewok Baggends, box steps his way through a Learner Lowe musical!’

‘That’s the beauty of this town,’ he grins ‘Durban forces one to diversify to survive-as a result you end up having more extreme experiences then you would usually have. This helps in the merging of my styles .Durban is a ‘live’ city, everything here hinges on live performance. Being on so many different stages allows for a pretty holistic training and you ultimately end up bringing all those influences back to your craft.

When I mention the word activism in ‘Spitfire’, Robinson looks slightly perplexed. When do we stop saying and start doing? Practicing what we preach? What are the responsibilities that come with spitting fire?

‘This is a constant question for me.’ he replies ‘I’m standing up there and saying all these things but what am I actually doing about it? My dilemma at the moment is that I don’t have all the answers to these questions I’m asking. I’m too caught up in thinking about the questions. That’s all I can do right now. There’s a definite frustration of not been able to solve or answer things. It’s something Libby cautioned me about –using clever words to disguise one’s own apathy. In the shows I don’t pretend to know all the answers. As I develop it, grow it, it will become clearer. I can start sharpening my delivery to a needle point. Right now It might seem that I’m smacking people on the head to give them a jolt but hopefully by the third show it’s going to be honed to the point of a hypodermic needle to the vein.’

So what keeps such a talent fighting the good fight in what many deem the artistic backwaters of the country? Had Robinson taken his talents to Jozi, there is no question they would have been promptly snapped up, wrapped up and released to the hip hopping masses.

‘Fame like that feeds you; you can escape yourself through that shit.’ He says, ‘you have to ask yourself what is it you really looking for when you do this stuff? I have no ambition to be the next Eminem. Just because I connect with this culture doesn’t mean I have to champion the stereotypes surrounding it. I’m on the edge of making what I do live. I can feel that potential here in Durban. I’ve tasted the possibilities, that’s got me locked into working out how to make it work.’

SPITFIRE - article first published: 2007-03-9 (www.artsmart.co.za) 

Iain Robinson (aka Ewok) is fast becoming a major cult figure in Durban and this is because of his astonishing, razor sharp challenge to the social conscience through entertainment.

Never having been in the right place at the right time up until now, I’ve only ever seen him in guest appearances at award ceremonies or special functions. So it was with a great sense of anticipation that I headed for Kwasuka Theatre last night for his production of Spitfire, directed by Libby Allen.

I certainly wasn’t disappointed. artSMart has already carried Maurice Kort’s review when Ewok appeared at the Musho! Festival in January, where his performance was understandably one of the acknowledged highlights. I can’t better Maurice’s comment: “Never having been a fan of rap or hip hop, he has completely won me over. His material is brilliant and his performance faultless, an amazing feat….”

Dressed in a baggy tracksuit, scarves wound round his arms, a cap that has a life of his own and rather incongruous (considering the hard-hitting material) white socks and takkies, Iain starts off with barely a whisper – “Hollywood’s burning and I want to do my part to fuel the fire”. He goes on to present cutting-edge satirical comment that looks at many issues. There are memorable lines – “If you don’t like what I say, then say it yourself” or “I rhyme because I’m free” – and they keep on coming with breathtaking rapidity!

He places strong focus on how television can manipulate the minds of the vulnerable. “We need to think about what we sell to the kids,” Iain says. It’s long been a challenge of mine to get children to understand that the violence they see on television is make-believe. The actors get up from the ground at the end of the scene, wash off the blood and come back to work the next day. Don’t give a child a toy gun to play with – they’ll think the real ones are just as harmless.

Iain focuses on slavish followers of fashion – “minds who are manufactured don’t mind if they’re fractured” and vociferously denounces computer pornography, fireworks and advertising hype.

There’s a circle of candles and aerosol cans at the back of the stage. The lighting changes once he enters this, bathing him in a red glow and throwing his shadow onto the back curtains like some giant menacing figure. Pulling his cap down over his eyes, he defends graffiti artists who are crying against injustice and breaking “barriers without harming”.

An amusing sequence sees him as a street hawker selling ideas: “Ideas! Ideas! … Discount on Ideas! Big ideas fresh out the brain …!”

Breakdance is an acknowledged form of movement. Is there, therefore, “breakspeak”? If so, Iain’s got it taped with his capacity to manipulate his voice in stops, jerks and sounds that make a poetry of their own.”

I’ve finally found out the origin of his pseudonym Ewok – or to give it its full title – Creamy Ewok Baggends. At school, he admits he was somewhat large and was known as Cream Puff, then came Ewok after Star Wars and Baggends after The Hobbit. So now you know! Or, rather, so now I know!

Guerilla advertising by Iain Ewok Robinson at The Standard Bank National Arts Festival 2006

Do What I Please Productions is founded on the ideal of creating work which is real, dynamic and challenging with a particular view toward the South African climate.

 The company aims to produce new South African texts and productions based on observation of our surroundings, and to present these pieces in ways, which spark thought and debate amongst our audiences. In this, our work must be relevant – in its questioning of social and political issues – and flexible, easily staged and not hindered by the demands of shifting spaces. Our focus does not lie in elaborate set or costuming, but rather stripping a piece down to its core, and asking how we may tell a story in its most raw form.

With our strong director-writer-performer relationship, we work in a system founded on trust and a shared vision, both understanding that it is the audience experience which comes first, and anything presented must contribute toward meaning best conveyed to our viewers. In this way our theatre becomes accessible and participatory, as both performer and audience explore the stories together.

This focus on the audience lies also in the director’s work with the performer.  We understand that, if our work is to be real and challenging, it must be presented with conviction, and be rid of ego or self-indulgence. We therefore aim to create rehearsal environments based on the ideal that no piece is ever perfect, and work can always be done to better a performance so that it remains dynamic and honest.

In linking our productions to self-expression and performance workshops – particularly with school pupils – we acknowledge our responsibility to, and desire to become active in, our community. It is by passing on the knowledge we have gained, that we hope to breed future proudly South African theatre practitioners. It is also by teaching that we continue to learn and be challenged by those in our generation.

Through versatile staging, performance modes and styles – be it drama, comedy or spoken word – Do What I Please Productions endeavors to become a recognized member of the South African theatre community, generating a discourse of liberation amongst those who encounter our work.

Libby Allen and Iain Ewok Robinson

“His material is brilliant and his performance faultless, an amazing feat….” (www.artsmart.co.za)

Do What I Please Productions follows their award-winning one-man performance poetry piece, One Mind, One Mouth, One Mic, with Spitfire, created in 2007 and performed to great acclaim throughout 2007 and 2008. Of Ewok’s performance at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, July 2008, The Star newspaper says this:

“Impressively playing – among a plethora of others – the role of the street vendor selling ideas, a boondocks-inspired old man who represents the old school as well as the graf writer who educates the community through his art, Ewok encourages the audience to search their souls and begin to question everything we see… Within this play Ewok (who is also a graf artist) ‘marries the old school with the new school’ and gets resounding praise from the audience. The point of the play can be found in one of his lines: You might not be happy being human, just be happy be you, man. ” (The Star)

The piece introduces two poets in one man, both searching for ways to express themselves, battling to keep their expression sacred, to be heard, to hear themselves, to find themselves, talking to themselves, to South Africa, and the audience. The style has been described as Stand Up Poetry, not quite comedy, not quite motivational speaking, not quite straight theatre. This is lyrical theatre, proudly South African performance poetry, the magic of the stage and the rawness of the street. The celebration of word and performance and liberation in thought.

Spitfire debuted at PANSA’s Musho! Festival in Durban, South Africa, 2007, where it was awarded the Audience Choice and Suliman ‘Best of the Festival’ trophy. The piece also earned Ewok the title of Best New Performer at the Durban Theatre Awards in the same year. Since then, Spitfire has performed at the Standard Bank Regional and National Schools’ Festivals around South Africa, the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, the Uplands Festival (Nelspruit, South Africa), Educators’ Training Days and schools’ performances in South Africa and Botswana and will appear at the Uppsala International Poetry Festival in October, 2008. Hype magazine describes Ewok as “meticulous, focused and passionate”, and, along with his work as an educator, artist and hip hop activist, he is considered a vital young member of the community.

“Ewok, I repeat, is a dangerous talent: he will change opinions, form new thought-patterns, mission in trackless jungles, forge treaties with the fiery lashings of his tongue and the innocence of his truth.” (The Daily News, Tonight)