Engaging hour of fun and nonsense from Afzal Khan. (Review by Caroline Smart)
The word “Mamoo” is Urdu for your “mother’s brother”, ie your maternal uncle. In Afzal Khan’s first full-length one-man stand-up comedy show, this popular veteran actor of stage, radio, film and television gets a chance to show his talents as a funny man.
Filling the wide Playhouse Drama theatre stage with his personality, his only set or props being a series of spotlights behind him displaying towers of red, blue and orange, Afzal Khan gave his audience a delightful evening’s entertainment. One full hour. With no let-up in the hilarious pace.
An hour is a long time to keep an audience of today captivated. With the invasion of technology into our lives, people have become used to quick fixes (internet, Facebook, Mixit, sms’s etc) and the average person’s span of concentration diminishes with each new development.
However, tonight’s audience showed no lack of concentration in a show that comprises brand new material as well as some of the highpoints from his stand-up routines over the past ten years. Thanks to his skilful performance, his audience responded in delight to his humour, reminiscences, stories and gentle jibes at people in the news – particularly those in the Indian film industry.
Hopping in and out of Urdu, Hindi and Tamil (a very amusing sequence on Michael Jackson), Afzal is a pleasing figure to watch. He’s nimble on his feet, highly versatile with his accents and can make a grimace look like an art form. He can dance and sing with equal capability and this gives him the edge over many other stand-up comedians.
Wicked smile at the ready, he dons a pair of sunglasses to show his resemblance to Mo Shaik after which he launches forth with a critical study of the brothers with appropriate songs for Schabir Shaik. He chats away with aplomb offering his hilarious takes on a number of subjects ranging from cellphones and vinyl records to World Cup songs and democracy. Retracing the days of his youth and the weekly highlight of going to the movies, he bemoans the modern trend of “new” Indians hiding the proper pronunciation of their ethnic names.
He focuses on the 150 years anniversary of the first arrivals of Indians in South Africa: “We gave this country sugar cane, it gave us diabetes!” and, unless it was in one of the vernaculars and I didn’t recognise any swear words, the language throughout remained above the belt.
Presented in Association with The Playhouse Company, Who's Your Mamoo? has a short run until October 2. Early booking is strongly advised. Tickets (pre-booked) range from R70 to R100 while tickets at the door cost R75 to R120. Book now through Computicket on 083 915 8000 or call 031 369 9596 (office hours). – Caroline Smart
Thursday, September 30, 2010
JOLA
(Pic: Mbongeni Ngema)Jola is primarily a television show which was conceptualized by Mbongeni Ngema, Mroza Buthelezi and members of Zulu TV and tabled in Pietermaritzburg in a meeting between KZN Music House and Department of Economic Development and Tourism. At this meeting, both parties agreed on the soundness of the concept which aims to create a live music–television programme for Zulu TV, which will also package and promote Committed Artists and KZN Music House as well as profiling KZN Music House Artists.
While Zulu TV is waiting earnestly to acquire funding to launch the station on air, the President of Committed Artists and KZN Music House decided to launch the Music concept Jola on Ukhozi FM using the premises of KZN Music House and market the Artists of KZN Music House and the facilities (Studios and Record company) to enhance the brand of KZN Music House.
Mbongeni Ngema, Mroza Buthelezi, Zulu TV and SABC 1 have agreed to tour the concept and concert Jola throughout all nine provinces in South Africa, whilst promoting KZN Music House to garner support from the entire music industry in South Africa.
JOLA is a consumable product of LSM 5 – 8 (Copyright Zulu TV/ Mbongeni Ngema)
The programme starts off at 18h00 when Mroza will introduce Hip Hop and Kwaito artists from KZN Music House: Chaos; DJ Mlisa; Sosha; Bullistic; Waya 77 and Mgarimbe.
Afro pop and Maskandi artists from KZN Music House will be featured from19h00 to 21h00. These include Afro Soul; Natalie; Nondumiso; Matshitshi Ngema and Mfiliseni Magubane.
This will be followed at 21h00 by the legend himself, Mbongeni Ngema (Ukuhlala kukamisi kwangiyekisa isikole,ungulube ziyawona ukhisi ngoba ziwuthatha ziwuxove odakeni...). closing the programme at 22h00, Mroza will welcome back the Hip-Hop and Kwaito artists who started off the evening.
Jola will take place on October 1 from 18h00 at KZN Music House, 1 Epsom Road (near the Greyville Racecourse). More information from Sbankwa Nyubuse, Marketing & Artist Development on 031 309 6167 or 082 838 8162 or email: email: marketing@kznmusichouse.com The KZN Music House initiative is supported by the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government.
FOM CONCERT: SPENCER MYER
Brilliant player presents programme that was wide-ranging and refreshingly off the beaten trtack. (Review by Michael Green)
The American pianist Spencer Myer, who is in his early thirties, has visited South Africa several times in recent years and has become a much admired figure on the musical scene here.
Understandably so. He is a brilliant player and he has an engaging, friendly personality, as he showed once again in a recital given for the Friends of Music at the Durban Jewish Centre. He presented a programme that was wide-ranging and refreshingly off the beaten track, with only one item that could really be described as a “popular classic”.
He opened with the Suite No. 2 in F major by Handel. I can’t recall when I last heard Handel played at a piano recital, and listening to this fine performance of lovely music made me wonder why this great master is so neglected by pianists. This suite is a four-movement work, two fast, two slow, and Spencer Myer captured admirably its varied moods.
A most interesting work followed, one that was probably new to all but maybe two or three members of the audience (these being pianists themselves). The curiously named Sonata 1.X.1905, From the Street, by the Czech composer Leos Janacek, was composed in 1905, after a student demonstration in the streets of Brno ended with a young man being bayoneted by Austrian troops. Janacek was enraged by the incident, and this two-movement sonata was the result.
It is an impressive and fascinating work. As Spencer Myer, speaking audibly and unpretentiously from the stage, pointed out, Janacek’s music combines to some degree the romanticism of the end of the nineteenth century and the dissonances of the beginning of the twentieth. This brief sonata is powerful and highly distinctive, and it was played with great skill and authority.
Then came the one really familiar item, Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No 2 (incidentally, there are only two sonatas in Op. 27, not three, as stated in the otherwise excellent programme notes). The pianist gave the first movement, the “Moonlight”, with excellent control of its subtle dynamics, and the final movement was played at high speed but with every note clearly articulated.
Spencer Myer went to the treasure house of Schumann’s piano music for his next item, Waldscenen, Op. 82. This rather rarely-played set of eight “Forest Scenes” is a late work and is full of interest. Only one piece, Vogel als Prophet (The Prophet Bird) is quite well known, and this was beautifully played, as were the other two gentle, poetic items in the set, Einsame Blumen (Solitary Flowers) and Abschied (Farewell).
Finally the pianist gave a resplendent virtuoso performance of what he described from the stage as “some of my favourite music in the world”: two numbers from Granados’s six-movement suite Goyescas, inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya. He played El amor y la muerte (Love and Death) and Los Requiebros (Endearments in the programme but also sometimes translated as Flattery and Compliments). These are gorgeous pieces, especially the latter, full of Spanish fire and opulent harmonies.
The pianist delivered them with power and passion and was rewarded with an ovation from the delighted audience. In response he gave two encores, one of them a quick-fire Witches’ Dance by his American compatriot Edward MacDowell. Altogether a recital to remember.
The prelude performer of the evening, funded by the National Lottery, was the young Romanian-born violinist Laura Osorhean, daughter of two players in the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra. She showed considerable skills and seems to have a bright future as a musician. - Michael Green
The American pianist Spencer Myer, who is in his early thirties, has visited South Africa several times in recent years and has become a much admired figure on the musical scene here.
Understandably so. He is a brilliant player and he has an engaging, friendly personality, as he showed once again in a recital given for the Friends of Music at the Durban Jewish Centre. He presented a programme that was wide-ranging and refreshingly off the beaten track, with only one item that could really be described as a “popular classic”.
He opened with the Suite No. 2 in F major by Handel. I can’t recall when I last heard Handel played at a piano recital, and listening to this fine performance of lovely music made me wonder why this great master is so neglected by pianists. This suite is a four-movement work, two fast, two slow, and Spencer Myer captured admirably its varied moods.
A most interesting work followed, one that was probably new to all but maybe two or three members of the audience (these being pianists themselves). The curiously named Sonata 1.X.1905, From the Street, by the Czech composer Leos Janacek, was composed in 1905, after a student demonstration in the streets of Brno ended with a young man being bayoneted by Austrian troops. Janacek was enraged by the incident, and this two-movement sonata was the result.
It is an impressive and fascinating work. As Spencer Myer, speaking audibly and unpretentiously from the stage, pointed out, Janacek’s music combines to some degree the romanticism of the end of the nineteenth century and the dissonances of the beginning of the twentieth. This brief sonata is powerful and highly distinctive, and it was played with great skill and authority.
Then came the one really familiar item, Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No 2 (incidentally, there are only two sonatas in Op. 27, not three, as stated in the otherwise excellent programme notes). The pianist gave the first movement, the “Moonlight”, with excellent control of its subtle dynamics, and the final movement was played at high speed but with every note clearly articulated.
Spencer Myer went to the treasure house of Schumann’s piano music for his next item, Waldscenen, Op. 82. This rather rarely-played set of eight “Forest Scenes” is a late work and is full of interest. Only one piece, Vogel als Prophet (The Prophet Bird) is quite well known, and this was beautifully played, as were the other two gentle, poetic items in the set, Einsame Blumen (Solitary Flowers) and Abschied (Farewell).
Finally the pianist gave a resplendent virtuoso performance of what he described from the stage as “some of my favourite music in the world”: two numbers from Granados’s six-movement suite Goyescas, inspired by the paintings of Francisco Goya. He played El amor y la muerte (Love and Death) and Los Requiebros (Endearments in the programme but also sometimes translated as Flattery and Compliments). These are gorgeous pieces, especially the latter, full of Spanish fire and opulent harmonies.
The pianist delivered them with power and passion and was rewarded with an ovation from the delighted audience. In response he gave two encores, one of them a quick-fire Witches’ Dance by his American compatriot Edward MacDowell. Altogether a recital to remember.
The prelude performer of the evening, funded by the National Lottery, was the young Romanian-born violinist Laura Osorhean, daughter of two players in the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra. She showed considerable skills and seems to have a bright future as a musician. - Michael Green
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
SLEEPING BEAUTY
A Bollywood Fairytale (Review by Shika Budhoo)
Sleeping Beauty, A Bollywood Fairy Tale written by Varshan Sookhun and directed and choreographed by Shivani Kara ran at the Suncoast Zone this September 2010. The piece was an appropriated version of the original story of Sleeping Beauty. With lovely Bollywood dance and some western mixes, the show brought a unique blending of styles in this version of Sleeping Beauty. With detailed set changes and distinctive dominating costume, the stage was coloured with interesting shapes and strong prolonged visuals. The cast was full of energy and the sections of dances which continued the story had a vibrancy that was both entertaining as well as skilfully carried out by the dancers on stage.
I was slightly confused by the change of markers from the original version of Sleepy Beauty to this version. The version I remember included: a princess’s christening and an unwanted evil witch casting a spell on the beautiful princess. The spell cast ensured the princess would die by injuring herself with a spindle after she turned sixteen. In the original version the good fairies cast another spell to put her into a deep sleep instead when that day eventually arrived, and the Queen banished the use of spindles in the kingdom. When she does injure herself on a spindle she falls into a very deep sleep, and the good fairies cast a spell over everyone in the whole castle to sleep, to rise only when the sleeping princess wakes, after her true love wakes her with a kiss.
The original version follows that the prince happens to arrive, finds the princess, kisses her and wakes her - along with her whole kingdom - in the process. The only real baddie in the original story was the evil fairy.
In the version presented at Suncoast Zone, Sleeping Beauty, A Bollywood Fairytale, Sookhun included many many different twists and turns, with many more and other levels of evil and love. Backstabbing and power is the order of the day in both kingdoms portrayed in the story and the battle between good and evil takes precedence when the throne of the kingdom is at jeopardy. At times, parts of the show resembled the ups and downs of a typical Bollywood soapie, like the deliberate heightened moments enjoyed in a popular tv drama.
It was different and interesting to watch how each character was acted in a different theatre style, some more dramatic than others, some more casual and a few truly comedic. The sound was not on top form the night I watched, with mics being the major problem. Despite a few minor lighting problems, the lighting design was apt for this dance and drama piece. I found writer, Varshan Sookhun’s own smooth DJ voice does make the listening easier during the lengthy blackouts between scenes and the extended voice-overs, which affected the potential to increase the pace of delivery of the story. The choice of music was superb, I found myself a luke-warm Bollywood fan, singing along to the classic and popular Bollywood tunes. - Shika Budhoo
Sleeping Beauty, A Bollywood Fairy Tale written by Varshan Sookhun and directed and choreographed by Shivani Kara ran at the Suncoast Zone this September 2010. The piece was an appropriated version of the original story of Sleeping Beauty. With lovely Bollywood dance and some western mixes, the show brought a unique blending of styles in this version of Sleeping Beauty. With detailed set changes and distinctive dominating costume, the stage was coloured with interesting shapes and strong prolonged visuals. The cast was full of energy and the sections of dances which continued the story had a vibrancy that was both entertaining as well as skilfully carried out by the dancers on stage.
I was slightly confused by the change of markers from the original version of Sleepy Beauty to this version. The version I remember included: a princess’s christening and an unwanted evil witch casting a spell on the beautiful princess. The spell cast ensured the princess would die by injuring herself with a spindle after she turned sixteen. In the original version the good fairies cast another spell to put her into a deep sleep instead when that day eventually arrived, and the Queen banished the use of spindles in the kingdom. When she does injure herself on a spindle she falls into a very deep sleep, and the good fairies cast a spell over everyone in the whole castle to sleep, to rise only when the sleeping princess wakes, after her true love wakes her with a kiss.
The original version follows that the prince happens to arrive, finds the princess, kisses her and wakes her - along with her whole kingdom - in the process. The only real baddie in the original story was the evil fairy.
In the version presented at Suncoast Zone, Sleeping Beauty, A Bollywood Fairytale, Sookhun included many many different twists and turns, with many more and other levels of evil and love. Backstabbing and power is the order of the day in both kingdoms portrayed in the story and the battle between good and evil takes precedence when the throne of the kingdom is at jeopardy. At times, parts of the show resembled the ups and downs of a typical Bollywood soapie, like the deliberate heightened moments enjoyed in a popular tv drama.
It was different and interesting to watch how each character was acted in a different theatre style, some more dramatic than others, some more casual and a few truly comedic. The sound was not on top form the night I watched, with mics being the major problem. Despite a few minor lighting problems, the lighting design was apt for this dance and drama piece. I found writer, Varshan Sookhun’s own smooth DJ voice does make the listening easier during the lengthy blackouts between scenes and the extended voice-overs, which affected the potential to increase the pace of delivery of the story. The choice of music was superb, I found myself a luke-warm Bollywood fan, singing along to the classic and popular Bollywood tunes. - Shika Budhoo
SOCCER STAR NUTRITIOUS DELICIOUS!
(Pic: Nomonde Matiwane and Thobani Mbele)Leading Durban theatre-in-education producers, Paw Paw Productions, is taking its latest theatre-in-education production, Soccer Star Nutritious Delicious!, to various community gatherings and festivals as part of their company’s community investment to teach younger members of the public the benefits of healthy eating and living. They will perform at Essenwood Craft Market on October 2.
Paw Paw Productions is run by husband and wife team Sandy Bigara and Francis Doherty-Bigara, Sandy having been active in the entertainment business for over 20 years. Their primary area of focus is creating innovative theatre for children which contains a powerful but subtle non-curricular educational message. Their shows have been seen by thousands of learners over the years. They also stage musical productions; create radio adverts and jingles, drama-themed training manuals and write scripts. They currently have two productions in repertory. Soccer Star Nutritious Delicious! tackles the serious issue of obesity among children using comedy and action with an underlying soccer theme. Pandersnoot's Christmas Conundrum is a Christmas show with a difference. This extensively researched script is peppered with unusual and wonderful facts about South Africa - ranging from crypto-zoology to myths and legends, about a grumpy alien scientist who time travels.
The performance at Essenwood Craft Market takes place at 11h00 on October 2 alongside the tea-garden. It is free to the public and all are welcome. The show was scheduled to take place last Saturday, but was postponed due to rain. More information from Sandy on 082 865 0226 or email: admin.pawpaw@gmail.com or visit www.pawpawsa.wordpress.com
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
MDUDUZI XAKAZA
(Pic: “Lonely homestead at KwaMasiwela, Maphumulo” - oil on canvas)Solo exhibition of new paintings and drawings at African Art Centre.
The African Art Centre is to host a solo exhibition of new paintings and drawings by one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most prolific artists, Mduduzi Xakaza.
Mduduzi was born at Maphumulo, KZN in 1965. After matriculating, he worked as a clerk in Ulundi before resigning to study for a BA (FA) and Higher Diploma in Education at the University of Fort Hare, majoring in History of Art, Painting and Graphic Art. He secured a position as Education Officer at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg in 1996 where he remained until 2006.
All this time, he continued working on his art, taking part in group and solo exhibitions. He completed his MA in Fine Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2002, followed by a post-graduate diploma in Museum and Heritage Studies in 2004. He is currently completing his PhD thesis titled Power Relations in Landscape Photographs by David Goldblatt and Santu Mofokeng through the University of the Western Cape.
He fell in love with the idea of depicting the landscape as a student in 1994 whilst studying the work of 19th Century German artist, Caspar David Friedrich. The magnificence of the landscape in these early paintings reminded him of his childhood years in Maphumulo and encouraged him to revisit some of these memories through the medium of painting
Of his recent new body of works, Mduduzi say, “I have stayed, studied and worked in different parts of South Africa. Born and bred in the friendly environment of Maphumulo, KZN, experiencing other parts of this country has helped me think more interestingly about what is called ‘sense of place’. This exhibition explores different spatial textures, climatic differences, and, lastly my response and interpretation to these places.
“Selected scenes of Maphumulo, Estcourt, Cape Flats and Vanderbijlpark (Gauteng) are my attempts to respond and interpret these places in terms of what they mean to me,” he continues. “I manipulate my media to express the harshness of parts of the Cape Flats and Vanderbijlpark which differ considerably from parts of my own province. Indirectly, this exhibition touches on a sense of nostalgia that one feels away from their places of birth”.
Although he no longer lives in the province, Mduduzi continues - through his paintings and drawing - to identify with the soil and soul of the land of KZN, his heritage. He has participated in numerous exhibitions in South Africa and abroad. His work is extensively represented in museums and in private collections. Besides being a practicing artist, he has contributed essays to a number of catalogues and has presented papers at numerous conferences, such as those of the SA Association of Art Historians and the SA Museums Association. He serves on a number of committees including the National Arts Council of South Africa and continues to make a profound contribution to the Arts in South Africa
The exhibition will be opened at the African Art Centre on September 29 at 17h30 by Jan Jordaan, Lecturer in Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology. It then runs until October 15. The African Art Centre is situated at 94 Florida Road, Morningside. More information from the Director, Sharon Crampton on 031 312 3805 or email africanartcentre@afri-art.co.za or visit www.afriart.co.za
THE EVENT
M-Net is to present viewers with the best international series earlier than ever before: The brand new must-see serial The Event premieres on M-Net on September 29 at 21h30, only nine days after its debut on the US channel. Over and above this ground-breaking broadcast, when the show goes on a one-week hiatus for the Super Bowl, M-Net wont skip a beat and instead will bring viewers the show a mere 36 hours after the broadcast premiere in the US!
The Event is a high conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker (Jason Ritter), an everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his would-be fiancée Leila (Sarah Roemer), and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in US history. But what is this cover-up and how does it link to The Event? This is the mystery viewers will have to solve through the eyes of Sean Walker.
M-Net’s Channel Head, Pierre Cloete says broadcasting the series only nine days after the US underlines the channel’s promise to host exclusive international first, exclusive and fast: “It’s a great achievement for us to be able to broadcast The Event as part of NBC’s worldwide release. It has been made possible by the latest broadcast technology which allows us to acquire HD files through a state-of-the-art new file delivery service.”
NBC Universal has confirmed that the show has been bought by almost 200 territories, including Scandinavia, Russia and South Africa (M-Net). “The pace at which broadcasters are licensing the series is extraordinary,” said NBC Universal International Television Distribution President Belinda Menendez.
The Event is a high conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker (Jason Ritter), an everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his would-be fiancée Leila (Sarah Roemer), and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in US history. But what is this cover-up and how does it link to The Event? This is the mystery viewers will have to solve through the eyes of Sean Walker.
M-Net’s Channel Head, Pierre Cloete says broadcasting the series only nine days after the US underlines the channel’s promise to host exclusive international first, exclusive and fast: “It’s a great achievement for us to be able to broadcast The Event as part of NBC’s worldwide release. It has been made possible by the latest broadcast technology which allows us to acquire HD files through a state-of-the-art new file delivery service.”
NBC Universal has confirmed that the show has been bought by almost 200 territories, including Scandinavia, Russia and South Africa (M-Net). “The pace at which broadcasters are licensing the series is extraordinary,” said NBC Universal International Television Distribution President Belinda Menendez.
TOP GEAR
Top Gear returns to BBC Knowledge with a daily run of classic episodes charting the escapades of presenters Jeremy, Richard and James. Every episode features the boys competing against each other in a variety of challenges as they each aim to become top dog on the road. Whether it’s a race from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh or a journey through the tunnels underneath the Palace of the People in Bucharest, one thing is certain – speed is always be a factor.
Also in this run, Jeremy and the team travel to the USA to take three new generation muscle cars on a trip from San Francisco to Utah, we discover what Top Gear might have been like 60 years ago, and see how celebrities Eric Bana, Michael Sheen and Guy Ritchie get on in the ‘Star in the Reasonably Priced Car’.
Series 3, 4, 12, 13 and 14 (40 episodes in all) starts on October 4 at 18h35 and 19h30 and continues every weekday.
Also in this run, Jeremy and the team travel to the USA to take three new generation muscle cars on a trip from San Francisco to Utah, we discover what Top Gear might have been like 60 years ago, and see how celebrities Eric Bana, Michael Sheen and Guy Ritchie get on in the ‘Star in the Reasonably Priced Car’.
Series 3, 4, 12, 13 and 14 (40 episodes in all) starts on October 4 at 18h35 and 19h30 and continues every weekday.
SHARON KATZ HELPS BUILD SCHOOL
(Pic: Sharon Katz)Popular singer joined by US Artists in Rotary benefit concert to build school
It’s been many world tours since Sharon Katz & The Peace Train made their historic concert journey throughout South Africa to promote the country’s first democratic election in 1993. In August, they returned home to raise the roof on the school they’d been building at KwaNgcolosi in the Valley of a Thousand Hills where children currently walk three hours a day to the closest school. To celebrate the event and raise funds for the finishing touches, they performed at Hillcrest Primary School in Hillcrest.
Among the musicians joining Sharon for this performance were vocalist Nonhlanhla Wanda, Mazwake Gumede on bass, Barney Bophela on keyboards and a number of American artists, actors and performers who have supported the school-building project.
Work on the school building began in July 2009 after Malcolm Nhleko, a Durban-based music producer and original Peace Train member, asked Sharon to help the children in KwaNgcolosi. Sharon and her colleagues Wendy Khethiwe Quick and Jane Konrad provided an arts and recreation programme for the children while the local people made the blocks for the school. By the end of August 2009, the walls were up and the team returned to the US to continue fundraising. In December, Hillcrest Rotary stepped forward to help raise the roof and oversee the construction along with the Induna. Induna Ndlela is a retired school principal whose student was also an original Peace Train member, making this a community development project that grew from the youth.
The Grammy-nominated band of Sharon Katz & The Peace Train started in Durban and now tours the world spreading the music of South African and the message about its peaceful transition to democracy. Their recordings include Imbizo which earned the Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album; Lerato with the legendary Afro-Jazz diva Dolly Rathebe; and Carnival! in which The Peace Train children’s choir features alongside Sting, Tina Turner, Madonna and Elton John.
For more details about the project visit www.SharonKatz.com
ADDICTED TO LIFE
The inspirational and heart-warming documentary DVD, Addicted to Life – The Reg Park Story is a tribute to a great and humble man. A former Mr Universe and best known as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s inspiration and one of the early actors in the Hercules movies, he adopted South Africa in the 1950’s as his home country. He passed away in 2007 after a lifetime of inspiring all who met him.
Reg Park was a man for all seasons. Known throughout the world as one of the greatest ever bodybuilders he was also a loving husband and father, businessman, actor, healer, teacher and mentor. This movie provides an insight into the man behind the public façade and is testimony to the fact that, with hard work and dedication, Park achieved ‘legendary’ status and was nicknamed ‘The Legend’.
Born in Leeds in northern England, Park was a natural sportsman and started playing soccer for Leeds United as a schoolboy. He excelled on the athletics track and by the time he returned from national service in Singapore he had set his mind on becoming Mr Universe.
The movie follows Park’s single-minded determination in achieving that goal and he emerged from the ravages of post-war England to conquer the bodybuilding world and beat the Americans at their own game. He won an unprecedented three Mr Universe titles over a span of 14 years and along the way he revolutionized training regimes and inspired generations of bodybuilders, the most famous being Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Park revolutionized the way people trained and prepared for competition and created posing routines – incorporating music into these routines for the first time at the suggestion of his wife - who had been a professional ballet dancer.
Addicted to Life – The Reg Park Story features interviews with many fascinating people who have been influenced by ‘The Legend’. It is a story that fascinates and saddens – but above all, it inspires.
Addicted to Life – The Reg Park Story retails at R169.95. More information at www.plumproductions.co.za
Reg Park was a man for all seasons. Known throughout the world as one of the greatest ever bodybuilders he was also a loving husband and father, businessman, actor, healer, teacher and mentor. This movie provides an insight into the man behind the public façade and is testimony to the fact that, with hard work and dedication, Park achieved ‘legendary’ status and was nicknamed ‘The Legend’.
Born in Leeds in northern England, Park was a natural sportsman and started playing soccer for Leeds United as a schoolboy. He excelled on the athletics track and by the time he returned from national service in Singapore he had set his mind on becoming Mr Universe.
The movie follows Park’s single-minded determination in achieving that goal and he emerged from the ravages of post-war England to conquer the bodybuilding world and beat the Americans at their own game. He won an unprecedented three Mr Universe titles over a span of 14 years and along the way he revolutionized training regimes and inspired generations of bodybuilders, the most famous being Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Park revolutionized the way people trained and prepared for competition and created posing routines – incorporating music into these routines for the first time at the suggestion of his wife - who had been a professional ballet dancer.
Addicted to Life – The Reg Park Story features interviews with many fascinating people who have been influenced by ‘The Legend’. It is a story that fascinates and saddens – but above all, it inspires.
Addicted to Life – The Reg Park Story retails at R169.95. More information at www.plumproductions.co.za
THE QUEST FOR MOSES TLADI
Moses Tladi (1903 - 1959) became the first black South African artist ever to exhibit in the South African National Gallery in December 1931. His first appearance, in Johannesburg in 1929, had caused a sensation. During the 1930's, Moses Tladi achieved a country-wide reputation as an outstanding landscape painter. He served his country during the Second World War, but continued to paint until the tragic events of 1956 which led to his death three years later.
Angela Read Lloyd's The Artist in the Garden - The Quest for Moses Tladi is available throughout South Africa following launches at Iziko SA National Gallery, Cape Town, and at the offices of the Professional Provident Society in Johannesburg. The PPS offices are on the former property Lokshoek where Moses Tladi was employed as a gardener in the 1920s.
This book re-discovers the life and work of a remarkable South African artist: the first black South African artist to paint in an international style.
The Artist in the Garden - The Quest for Moses Tladi is published by Publishing Print Matters (Pty) Ltd . More information on: 021 789 0155, fax 086 614 4932 or 083 280 0237 or visit www.printmatters.co.za
Angela Read Lloyd's The Artist in the Garden - The Quest for Moses Tladi is available throughout South Africa following launches at Iziko SA National Gallery, Cape Town, and at the offices of the Professional Provident Society in Johannesburg. The PPS offices are on the former property Lokshoek where Moses Tladi was employed as a gardener in the 1920s.
This book re-discovers the life and work of a remarkable South African artist: the first black South African artist to paint in an international style.
The Artist in the Garden - The Quest for Moses Tladi is published by Publishing Print Matters (Pty) Ltd . More information on: 021 789 0155, fax 086 614 4932 or 083 280 0237 or visit www.printmatters.co.za
Monday, September 27, 2010
GHOSTS
(Pic: Derek de Froberville, Tshepiso Mabulana and Siphesihle Shangase)The Drama and Performance Studies Programme of the University of KwaZulu-Natal will present Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts for a short run from October 6.
“And so here we have a production of Ibsen’s Ghosts set ‘possibly’ in the claustrophobic semi-urban society of somewhere like Stanger,” says director Dr Christopher John. “Where a beloved and successful son of a wealthy Indian mother is suffering from an incurable sexually-transmitted disease. This expressionist production of the play raises certain questions. Will the interpretation of the play hold? Can we find a way in which the play might resonate for a contemporary audience in KwaZulu-Natal?
“While discussing drama and the African world-view,” he continues, “Wole Soyinka recalls how in the 1960s certain London theatre critics felt that since syphilis was no longer an incurable disease, Ibsen’s Ghosts had lost its tragic rationale. Soyinka contrasts this with an explanation of how - from an African perspective - tragedy can transcend the cause of individual disjunction, such as disease or impotency, and can recognize these as a reflection of a far greater disharmony in the communal psyche.
“Since the late 19th century, realism has retained a firm hold on productions of Ibsen’s prose plays. And yet a desire to challenge the naturalistic manner of staging these plays led some anti-naturalistic theatre innovators, during the early twentieth century, to explore a more acutely defined conceptual approach to staging and to engage goals of simplification, stylization, and suggestion.”
The press material continues: “Edward Gordon Graig in his programme note for Eleonora Duse’s version of Rosmersholm in 1905 wrote: “Ibsen’s marked detestation for Realism is nowhere more apparent than in the two plays Rosmersholm and Ghosts, … the words are the words of actuality, but the drift of the words, something beyond this. There is the powerful impression of unseen forces closing in upon the place: we hear continually the long drawn-out note of the horn of death.
“Frederick and Lise-Lone Marker describe how the Munch-Reinhardt collaboration, later in the century, opened audiences’ eyes to a ‘new’ Ibsen with a simplified living-room that stressed certain specific visual motifs, intended to heighten and deepen the dominant mood of the production. They explain how this endowed the inner spirit of the play with life and visible form, rather than attempting to recreate external ‘reality’ on the stage.”
Christopher John maintains that the questions he raised earlier, asking if this production of Ghosts can find some resonance with the life experiences of a South African audience “can only be answered when we all meet together at a performance, the audience, Jason Barber’s design, the actors and their work, Rogers Ganesen’s lighting, my direction, and Henrik Ibsen’s extraordinary play.”
Ghosts runs at the Square Space Theatre from October 6 to 9 at 19h00 in the Square Space Theatre, Howard College Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal. More information from Claudette Wagner on 031 260 3133, fax 031 260 1410 or email – wagnerc1@ukzn.ac.za
TAXI-015 PAUL STOPFORTH
David Krut Publishing has produced the 15th title in the TAXI Art Books series comprising essays by Kate McCrickard, Leora Maltz, Judith Mason, Anne Sasson.
Early in his career, Paul Stopforth produced several bodies of work that were startling in their courageous engagement with the repressive society in which he found himself. His uncompromising refusal to turn away from a world of pain and injustice cost him dearly, but earned him enormous respect from his peers and from discerning art critics who saw his work in its first, youthful incarnations at The Market Theatre Gallery, where he was a director from 1977 to 1984. Stopforth left South Africa for the United States in the late 1980s, despairing that there would ever be change in South Africa. He took up a teaching position at Harvard University and exhibited his work at many museums and galleries in the USA.
Despite this separation of miles and years, Stopforth has maintained ties with the country of his birth, returning for short periods to do work that engages intensely with the physical and psychological landscapes of home. In 2004, during a residency on Robben Island, he created a series of poignant paintings reflecting on the intense memories contained in such mundane objects as old blanket pins, cabinets, and bars of soap used by the prisoners incarcerated on the island before 1994. The series stands as a watershed in his oeuvre, connecting past to present not only in its subject matter but also in Stopforth’s own trajectory as an artist.
Over time, Stopforth’s work has become less overtly political but no less engaged with the world. He is an acute observer of the minutiae of everyday life and keenly attuned to the significance of ordinary objects, which he imbues with dignity and careful metaphorical significance in a palette that ranges from the soft earthy tones of the Robben Island series to the startling pinks, yellows and greens of his recent work.
Stopforth has exhibited his work since 1971 in galleries and museums in South Africa, the United States and Europe. He has served as curator and juror for a number of institutions and competitions, and in 2004 he delivered the Ruth First Memorial Lecture at Brandeis University. His work is held in many public and private collections in South Africa and abroad.
TAXI-015 Paul Stopforth is published in full colour in softcover by David Krut Publishing. Retail price R150 - ISBN 978-0-9814328-2-3
More information from David Krut Publishing on 011 880 5646, email: books@davidkrut.com or visit www.davidkrutpublishing.com
Early in his career, Paul Stopforth produced several bodies of work that were startling in their courageous engagement with the repressive society in which he found himself. His uncompromising refusal to turn away from a world of pain and injustice cost him dearly, but earned him enormous respect from his peers and from discerning art critics who saw his work in its first, youthful incarnations at The Market Theatre Gallery, where he was a director from 1977 to 1984. Stopforth left South Africa for the United States in the late 1980s, despairing that there would ever be change in South Africa. He took up a teaching position at Harvard University and exhibited his work at many museums and galleries in the USA.
Despite this separation of miles and years, Stopforth has maintained ties with the country of his birth, returning for short periods to do work that engages intensely with the physical and psychological landscapes of home. In 2004, during a residency on Robben Island, he created a series of poignant paintings reflecting on the intense memories contained in such mundane objects as old blanket pins, cabinets, and bars of soap used by the prisoners incarcerated on the island before 1994. The series stands as a watershed in his oeuvre, connecting past to present not only in its subject matter but also in Stopforth’s own trajectory as an artist.
Over time, Stopforth’s work has become less overtly political but no less engaged with the world. He is an acute observer of the minutiae of everyday life and keenly attuned to the significance of ordinary objects, which he imbues with dignity and careful metaphorical significance in a palette that ranges from the soft earthy tones of the Robben Island series to the startling pinks, yellows and greens of his recent work.
Stopforth has exhibited his work since 1971 in galleries and museums in South Africa, the United States and Europe. He has served as curator and juror for a number of institutions and competitions, and in 2004 he delivered the Ruth First Memorial Lecture at Brandeis University. His work is held in many public and private collections in South Africa and abroad.
TAXI-015 Paul Stopforth is published in full colour in softcover by David Krut Publishing. Retail price R150 - ISBN 978-0-9814328-2-3
More information from David Krut Publishing on 011 880 5646, email: books@davidkrut.com or visit www.davidkrutpublishing.com
AMMAZULU
The Ammazulu boutique hotel in Kloof, a visionary lodge celebrating the cultural heritage of KwaZulu-Natal, has risen on the edge of the Kloof Gorge, overlooking the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve.
The palace, reflecting on parts of KZN history, is the vision of Durban artist Peter Amm, who has used his entire collection of Zulu art and crafts, incorporated into more than 40 beaded columns of exquisite beauty. It has been designed principally by Kevin MacGarry of Architects Collaborative, with assistance from the owner, who has been nurturing the site for some four decades. Each of the ten suites houses a portion of the fascinating private Zulu art collection.
More information on 031 764 8000 or 072 176 5041 or email info@ammazulupalace.co.za or visit www.AmmaZuluPalace.co.za
The palace, reflecting on parts of KZN history, is the vision of Durban artist Peter Amm, who has used his entire collection of Zulu art and crafts, incorporated into more than 40 beaded columns of exquisite beauty. It has been designed principally by Kevin MacGarry of Architects Collaborative, with assistance from the owner, who has been nurturing the site for some four decades. Each of the ten suites houses a portion of the fascinating private Zulu art collection.
More information on 031 764 8000 or 072 176 5041 or email info@ammazulupalace.co.za or visit www.AmmaZuluPalace.co.za
END GAME
Endgame is the exhibition produced by Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Arts Michael MacGarry for the 2010 National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. It is on tour and is currently running at the Durban Art Gallery.
End Game is made up of several films. LHR-JNB deals with four men stuck in a life raft after a plane crash. The Great Man of History Template is a series of three filmed kaleidoscopes that carry the soundtracks of the films Apocalypse Now, The Mosquito Coast and Lord of the Flies. The series is said to explore what happens when white males leave their habitual context and place themselves in new, mainly African contexts which they often exploit for economic gain.
Will to Power investigates the political motivations behind assassinations as well as the common inability of struggle-era veteran leaders to deliver effective leadership without centralised power and a one-party political system A sculpture named Insects Cannot Know Love is also on display. The film-based nature of the exhibition allows the audience to take their time with it. MacGarry describes the viewing experience as a loop: “You may come half way through (a film), this may change the meaning, but it doesn’t matter.”
Nomusa Makhubu – Cue contributing editor - described the exhibition on July 1 in the festival newspaper as follows: “There’s something disquieting about Endgame. The intuitive use of film narratives and three-dimensional installations creates a space in which to reflect on the limits of humanism and uncertain morality in the face of scarce resources. Do moral standards dissipate when all that matters is survival?”
Explaining that Michael MacGarry ‘interrogates the complexity of human instinct in dire circumstances”, she goes on to say: “Hearing the audio while seeing the distorted imagery, which echoes in the form of the hypnotic Mandala, is entrancing. And this hyperbolic geometry embellishes the idea of the unconscious as a parallel of primitive instinct. In these narratives the outsider is simultaneously a hero and an antagonist who seeks to create an ideal world but gradually, through human flaw, contributes to its destruction.”
Michael MacGarry (31) is a Johannesburg-based visual artist, graphic designer and author who draws from various creative wells to unpack and critically analyze contemporary socio-political and economic narratives on the African continent through his visual creations. “From a young age I have always wanted to work across a number of creative fields, from visual art, to design and writing,” he says. “Now as an adult I do work across these fields, but the visual art component allows me to integrate all these elements in producing dense, theatrical and fictional hybrids.”
Acclaimed artist Andrew Verster, National Arts Festival committee member for Visual Art, said: “Michael’s genius is the particular way he transforms an object we know into something completely different, another reality that is still recognisable. At times subtle, at others radical, the new objects are so hypnotic, so plausible, so clever, so tantalising that we can never look at any of his sources in the same way again. We are torn between what we know to be fact and what he offers as an alternative.”
MacGarry holds a Masters Degree in Fine Art from the University of the Witwatersrand, and began his graphic design career in 2000 with Sexton Design & Media in Dublin, Ireland before moving to London in 2002 to join Brockway Associates as a graphic designer. In 2003 he returned to South Africa, and joined The Trinity Session as manager of The Premises Gallery. In 2006 he joined Fever Identity Design in Johannesburg as a graphic designer, where he is currently based.
He is a member of the Johannesburg-based visual art collective Avant Car Guard, who have shown at a national and international level for several years. In partnership with Zander Blom, Michael is also a member of visual arts collaborative Blom & MacGarry Presents. No stranger to the national and international exhibition scene, his art has travelled to Germany, the UK and the USA. His work is housed in numerous private and corporate collections both locally and abroad, including the Seattle Art Museum and the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Brodie/Stevenson in Johannesburg represents his visual art career.
Endgame runs at the Durban Art Gallery until November 7. The Durban Art Gallery is situated on the second floor of the Durban City Hall, entrance in Anton Lembede (formerly Smith) Street opposite the Playhouse. More information on 031 311 2262/6.
End Game is made up of several films. LHR-JNB deals with four men stuck in a life raft after a plane crash. The Great Man of History Template is a series of three filmed kaleidoscopes that carry the soundtracks of the films Apocalypse Now, The Mosquito Coast and Lord of the Flies. The series is said to explore what happens when white males leave their habitual context and place themselves in new, mainly African contexts which they often exploit for economic gain.
Will to Power investigates the political motivations behind assassinations as well as the common inability of struggle-era veteran leaders to deliver effective leadership without centralised power and a one-party political system A sculpture named Insects Cannot Know Love is also on display. The film-based nature of the exhibition allows the audience to take their time with it. MacGarry describes the viewing experience as a loop: “You may come half way through (a film), this may change the meaning, but it doesn’t matter.”
Nomusa Makhubu – Cue contributing editor - described the exhibition on July 1 in the festival newspaper as follows: “There’s something disquieting about Endgame. The intuitive use of film narratives and three-dimensional installations creates a space in which to reflect on the limits of humanism and uncertain morality in the face of scarce resources. Do moral standards dissipate when all that matters is survival?”
Explaining that Michael MacGarry ‘interrogates the complexity of human instinct in dire circumstances”, she goes on to say: “Hearing the audio while seeing the distorted imagery, which echoes in the form of the hypnotic Mandala, is entrancing. And this hyperbolic geometry embellishes the idea of the unconscious as a parallel of primitive instinct. In these narratives the outsider is simultaneously a hero and an antagonist who seeks to create an ideal world but gradually, through human flaw, contributes to its destruction.”
Michael MacGarry (31) is a Johannesburg-based visual artist, graphic designer and author who draws from various creative wells to unpack and critically analyze contemporary socio-political and economic narratives on the African continent through his visual creations. “From a young age I have always wanted to work across a number of creative fields, from visual art, to design and writing,” he says. “Now as an adult I do work across these fields, but the visual art component allows me to integrate all these elements in producing dense, theatrical and fictional hybrids.”
Acclaimed artist Andrew Verster, National Arts Festival committee member for Visual Art, said: “Michael’s genius is the particular way he transforms an object we know into something completely different, another reality that is still recognisable. At times subtle, at others radical, the new objects are so hypnotic, so plausible, so clever, so tantalising that we can never look at any of his sources in the same way again. We are torn between what we know to be fact and what he offers as an alternative.”
MacGarry holds a Masters Degree in Fine Art from the University of the Witwatersrand, and began his graphic design career in 2000 with Sexton Design & Media in Dublin, Ireland before moving to London in 2002 to join Brockway Associates as a graphic designer. In 2003 he returned to South Africa, and joined The Trinity Session as manager of The Premises Gallery. In 2006 he joined Fever Identity Design in Johannesburg as a graphic designer, where he is currently based.
He is a member of the Johannesburg-based visual art collective Avant Car Guard, who have shown at a national and international level for several years. In partnership with Zander Blom, Michael is also a member of visual arts collaborative Blom & MacGarry Presents. No stranger to the national and international exhibition scene, his art has travelled to Germany, the UK and the USA. His work is housed in numerous private and corporate collections both locally and abroad, including the Seattle Art Museum and the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Brodie/Stevenson in Johannesburg represents his visual art career.
Endgame runs at the Durban Art Gallery until November 7. The Durban Art Gallery is situated on the second floor of the Durban City Hall, entrance in Anton Lembede (formerly Smith) Street opposite the Playhouse. More information on 031 311 2262/6.
KZNPO SUNDAY SINFONIA
The KZN Philharmonic will present a Sunday Sinfonia concert at St Thomas’ Church in Musgrave on October 3. This select series of classical concerts take place for an hour on Sunday mornings to whet the classical appetite of varied audiences.
Sabine Baird, principal flautist of the KZN Philharmonic, will perform a Flute Concerto under the baton of the orchestra’s resident conductor, Naum Rousine, who is also the composer of this piece. Sabine began her music studies in Germany. Since 2000, she has performed as first flute with all major orchestras in the Gauteng region. She joined the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005 and was appointed principal flute in 2006.
Naum Rousine’s debut as a conductor with the KZN Philharmonic was in a concert which premiered his own Flute Concerto in 1994. The scope of his work encompasses chamber, symphonic, ballet, musicals, operatic and choral works, as well as education and development programmes with the KZNPO.
Also featured in the programme will be Mozart’s Serenade No.11 in E-flat major.
The Sunday Sinfonia concert takes place at St Thomas’ Church in Musgrave at 11h30 on October 3. Tickets R40 (R25 students) at the door. Members of the public are invited to join Africa’s premiere orchestra for an hour of classical entertainment. For more information contact the marketing team on 031 369 9438, e-mail kznpo@kznpo.co.za or click on the orchestra’s advert at the top of this page.
Sabine Baird, principal flautist of the KZN Philharmonic, will perform a Flute Concerto under the baton of the orchestra’s resident conductor, Naum Rousine, who is also the composer of this piece. Sabine began her music studies in Germany. Since 2000, she has performed as first flute with all major orchestras in the Gauteng region. She joined the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005 and was appointed principal flute in 2006.
Naum Rousine’s debut as a conductor with the KZN Philharmonic was in a concert which premiered his own Flute Concerto in 1994. The scope of his work encompasses chamber, symphonic, ballet, musicals, operatic and choral works, as well as education and development programmes with the KZNPO.
Also featured in the programme will be Mozart’s Serenade No.11 in E-flat major.
The Sunday Sinfonia concert takes place at St Thomas’ Church in Musgrave at 11h30 on October 3. Tickets R40 (R25 students) at the door. Members of the public are invited to join Africa’s premiere orchestra for an hour of classical entertainment. For more information contact the marketing team on 031 369 9438, e-mail kznpo@kznpo.co.za or click on the orchestra’s advert at the top of this page.
SPENCER MYER FOR FRIENDS OF MUSIC
Friends of Music will present a recital by American pianist Spencer Myer (pictured) on September 28. A Gold Medallist in the New Orleans International competition, he continues to garner stellar audience and critical acclaim around the globe. He won the 10th Unisa International piano competition in South Africa,His programme will include works by Handel, Jan áček, Beethoven, Schumann and Granados.
The recital will take place on September 28 at 19h45 at the Durban Jewish Centre, 44 Old Fort Road, Durban. Tickets R70 (R60 FOM members and R20 students/orchestral members. There is safe parking. Friends of Music is funded by the National Lottery.
DURBAN INTERNATIONAL BLUES FESTIVAL
Now in its 6th year, The Durban International Blues Festival is an annual event considered a fixture on the Celebrate Durban Programme of events. The event has received acclaim within the global blues community and is achieving its aim of becoming synonymous with Durban. With a full programme of free concerts through the week, culminating in ticketed gala performances which conclude the festival, The DIBF boasts local, national and international names on their bill.
The Festival also supports two charities, Shepherds Keep and The Daily News Milk Fund and co-ordinates musical educational outreach programmes and master classes during the festival to “polish developing artists”.
The Durban International Blues Festival runs from September 25 to October 3 at Wilsons Wharf and Catalina Theatre. Entry fees vary with some concerts being free, while others are ticketed. For a full programme visit www.durbanbluesfestival.co.za
More information from Catalina Theatre on 031 305 6889 or email: t74@mweb.co.za or tva_pr@global.co.za
The Festival also supports two charities, Shepherds Keep and The Daily News Milk Fund and co-ordinates musical educational outreach programmes and master classes during the festival to “polish developing artists”.
The Durban International Blues Festival runs from September 25 to October 3 at Wilsons Wharf and Catalina Theatre. Entry fees vary with some concerts being free, while others are ticketed. For a full programme visit www.durbanbluesfestival.co.za
More information from Catalina Theatre on 031 305 6889 or email: t74@mweb.co.za or tva_pr@global.co.za
KZNPO SHOWCASES YOUNG SA TALENT
The KZN Philharmonic will host seven of South Africa’s most talented musicians at the National Youth Concerto Festival on September 30. This annual event showcases the cream of SA’s young talent, hand-picked by resident conductor, Lykele Temmingh, through a national audition process. A special feature this year will be the appearance of the KZN Youth Orchestra, who recently performed with the Parlotones. They will be joined on stage by the Bochabela String Orchestra to perform an overture composed by Roelof Temmingh, Concerto Overture No. 2.
The KZN Youth Orchestra is a development orchestra made up of young people who can read music; have a rudimentary ability to play an instrument and are under 23 years old. They meet on a weekly basis and are coached under professional guidance on individual mastery over their instruments.
The Bochabela String Orchestra is part of the Mangaung String Programme (MSP), which is a development programme initiated by the Free State Musicon in July 1998 under the leadership of Peter Guy, a former member of the KZN Philharmonic (1985-1991). The children from the programme are from the greater Bloemfontein area, predominately Mangaung. The Bochabela String Orchestra is, in essence, the public face of the MSP and performs a wide variety of music from baroque to traditional and popular African music.
Commenting on the 2010 National Youth Concerto Festival, Chief Executive and Artistic director of the orchestra, Bongani Tembe, said: “We are delighted to once again bring the Durban audiences some of the very best young talent South Africa has to offer. This festival is an important part of our education and development programme and we are encouraged by the high standard of the participants this year. We are equally excited to welcome the Bochabela String Orchestra to the event for the first time.”
The seven soloists will treat the Durban City Hall audience to an evening of great entertainment.
Johannesburg-based Fladia Buongiorno (sopranino recorder) started music at the age of seven. Her impressive CV includes distinction for her Trinity Grade 7 practical exam in recorder. Fladia will perform movements from Vivaldi’s Recorder Concerto in C Major. Flautist Sally Jane Minter recently performed an on-stage flute solo in the UCT and Cape Town Opera production of Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reins. A recent finalist in the Pick ‘n Pay Fine Music Radio 101.3 music competition, the Capetonian will perform Chaminader’s Flute Concerto. Pianist Jane Yu brings the first half to a close with the 3rd movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Currently in her third year at the South African College of Music, Jane has performed all over the world, including Taiwan, Vermont, USA and at Carnegie Hall.
Born in China, 20-year-old Junnan Sun is a third year BMus student at the University of Pretoria. He has appeared as a soloist on SABC’s Morning Live show and also with the South African National Youth Orchestra. Junnan opens the second half of the programme with the 3rd movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A. Tobias Kotzé received the Overberg Eisteddfod Trophy for the most promising participant in the Junior music section (piano and singing) at the tender age of eight. He twice attended the Neuberger Kulturtage in Austria where he received intensive tuition from Prof. Heidi Litchauer, of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, who describes Kotzé as one of the most promising young cellists of South Africa. Tobias will perform Bruch’s Kol Nidrei.
Also performing a Bruch composition – the 3rd movement of his Violin Concerto No. 1, is violinist Lieva Starker. She has won numerous medals and awards at different eisteddfods in and around Cape Town since 2004. Most recently (2010) Lieva was placed second in the Pieter Kooij music competition for High School Learners. Cape Town’s Francois Botha brings the evening to a close with the 1st movement of Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto. Having switched from Jazz to classical piano in 2001, he went on to receive a music scholarship in 2004 at Bishops Diocesan College. He has taken top honours at numerous eisteddfods and participated in competitions around the country.
The concert, which forms part of the KZN Philharmonic’s WSS Spring season, takes place in the Durban City Hall on September 30 at 19h30. Booking is through Computicket. Safe and subsidized parking is available at The Royal Hotel and, as always, the orchestra will retain the services of additional security guards to ensure the safety of all concert goers. More information from the KZNPO website which can be found by clicking on the advert at the top of this page.
The KZN Youth Orchestra is a development orchestra made up of young people who can read music; have a rudimentary ability to play an instrument and are under 23 years old. They meet on a weekly basis and are coached under professional guidance on individual mastery over their instruments.
The Bochabela String Orchestra is part of the Mangaung String Programme (MSP), which is a development programme initiated by the Free State Musicon in July 1998 under the leadership of Peter Guy, a former member of the KZN Philharmonic (1985-1991). The children from the programme are from the greater Bloemfontein area, predominately Mangaung. The Bochabela String Orchestra is, in essence, the public face of the MSP and performs a wide variety of music from baroque to traditional and popular African music.
Commenting on the 2010 National Youth Concerto Festival, Chief Executive and Artistic director of the orchestra, Bongani Tembe, said: “We are delighted to once again bring the Durban audiences some of the very best young talent South Africa has to offer. This festival is an important part of our education and development programme and we are encouraged by the high standard of the participants this year. We are equally excited to welcome the Bochabela String Orchestra to the event for the first time.”
The seven soloists will treat the Durban City Hall audience to an evening of great entertainment.
Johannesburg-based Fladia Buongiorno (sopranino recorder) started music at the age of seven. Her impressive CV includes distinction for her Trinity Grade 7 practical exam in recorder. Fladia will perform movements from Vivaldi’s Recorder Concerto in C Major. Flautist Sally Jane Minter recently performed an on-stage flute solo in the UCT and Cape Town Opera production of Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reins. A recent finalist in the Pick ‘n Pay Fine Music Radio 101.3 music competition, the Capetonian will perform Chaminader’s Flute Concerto. Pianist Jane Yu brings the first half to a close with the 3rd movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Currently in her third year at the South African College of Music, Jane has performed all over the world, including Taiwan, Vermont, USA and at Carnegie Hall.
Born in China, 20-year-old Junnan Sun is a third year BMus student at the University of Pretoria. He has appeared as a soloist on SABC’s Morning Live show and also with the South African National Youth Orchestra. Junnan opens the second half of the programme with the 3rd movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A. Tobias Kotzé received the Overberg Eisteddfod Trophy for the most promising participant in the Junior music section (piano and singing) at the tender age of eight. He twice attended the Neuberger Kulturtage in Austria where he received intensive tuition from Prof. Heidi Litchauer, of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, who describes Kotzé as one of the most promising young cellists of South Africa. Tobias will perform Bruch’s Kol Nidrei.
Also performing a Bruch composition – the 3rd movement of his Violin Concerto No. 1, is violinist Lieva Starker. She has won numerous medals and awards at different eisteddfods in and around Cape Town since 2004. Most recently (2010) Lieva was placed second in the Pieter Kooij music competition for High School Learners. Cape Town’s Francois Botha brings the evening to a close with the 1st movement of Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto. Having switched from Jazz to classical piano in 2001, he went on to receive a music scholarship in 2004 at Bishops Diocesan College. He has taken top honours at numerous eisteddfods and participated in competitions around the country.
The concert, which forms part of the KZN Philharmonic’s WSS Spring season, takes place in the Durban City Hall on September 30 at 19h30. Booking is through Computicket. Safe and subsidized parking is available at The Royal Hotel and, as always, the orchestra will retain the services of additional security guards to ensure the safety of all concert goers. More information from the KZNPO website which can be found by clicking on the advert at the top of this page.
WHO’S YOUR MAMOO?
(Pic: Afzal Khan)Opening next week at the Playhouse is a hot property season of humour not to be missed. Stand by for a laugh-a-line experience you'll remember for years! Afzal Khan, one of KZN's best-loved actors and one of South Africa's funniest comedians, is set to take the solo spotlight on the Playhouse Drama Theatre stage in his first-ever, full-length one-man stand-up comedy show, Who's Your Mamoo?
To thousands, the warm-hearted Afzal is a popular brand on the entertainment scene, not least for his appearances in a string of hits on stage, television and the big-screen. These include, among others, the four Chalo Cinema shows, Jimbo and The Coolie Odyssey at The Playhouse, SABC TV 2's Bay of Plenty - and the recent movie release, For Better For Worse, to name just a few.
However, above all, Afzal Khan is in his element in the Stand-Up entertainment arena. So his scores of fans are invited to band together as the ultimate Mamoo of Comedy takes his audience on a one-hour roller coaster of mirth. The show comprises an uproarious collation of highpoints from his Stand-Up routines over the past ten years as well as brand new material. The show promises to have audiences rolling in the aisles as he reminisces about his early years, then takes a broadside at the SA Policing System and how it takes on the chronic Crime scenario in our society. He also turns his laser beam wit onto topics such as Bollywood, Michael Jackson, cell phones, reality shows, politics, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and a host of others.
Presented in Association with The Playhouse Company, Who's Your Mamoo? runs from September 29 to October 2. Early booking is strongly advised. Tickets (prebooked) range from R70 to R100 while tickets at the door will cost R75 to R120. Book now through Computicket on 083 915 8000 or call 031 369 9596 (office hours).
BALANCING ACT
(Pic: Adi Paxton)Cherryco’s latest production is Balancing Act, a delightful new children's play starring Adi Paxton and directed by Garth Anderson which opens in the Durban Botanic Gardens Open Air Theatre above the Tea Room off Sydenham Road on September 28 for a short run.
Through comedy, drama and song, Balancing Actteaches children about the terrible misuse of our planet Earth. Although light and in touch with children aged 4 to 12, and suitable for mums, dads, grans and grampas, Balancing Actdiscusses global warming, pollution, and how we can prevent the destruction of our world. Adi uses magic and puppets to keep children's attention for over 40 minutes of life-saving advice.
‘Being less than an hour in length forty minutes without an interval, even young children will be able to watch the performance without having to disrupt mum by needing to go to the toilet,” says Adi.
Being involved the performing arts for many years as Cherry the magical clown, Adi the Magicienne and other entertaining characters, Adi’s goal is to provide children with useful information. Garth Anderson has produced children’s shows in Botanic Gardens for many years, including Just So Stories, Aladdin, The Princess and The Pea, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Sally Suneshine’s Most Amazing Suitcase and The Minerva Children. The production provides a perfect family edu-tainment show full of fun and laughter during the September holidays,
Balancing Act runs from September 28 to 3 October daily at 10.00am.Tickets R35 (R25 children and pensioners). Buy tickets half an hour before the show at the theatre, or book by phoning 083 725 0925.
DUET FOR ONE
If this is revived at a theatre near you, don’t hesitate to see it! (Review by Caroline Smart)
I missed seeing Duet for One when it ran in Durban but was able to catch it at the Witness Hilton Arts Festival.
When setting out my comments on the production, I turned to Maurice Kort’s review for artSMart (http://news.artsmart.co.za/2010/09/duet-for-one_09.html) and realised that he has said it all already.
This KickstArt production is one of the finest to come from this multi-award winning theatre company – again impeccably directed by Steven Stead and skilfully designed by Greg King to fit the situation. At Hilton, the curtains remained open as the audience came in so we were able to take full cognisance of the set as a whole as well as the finer details. I particularly liked the pre-set lighting which emphasised the luxurious throws and cushions.
As Maurice Kort said, the performances were superb. Clare Mortimer’s abrasive character of Stephanie is full of well-controlled flippancy, her jibes and insults hiding her inner turmoil. She is beautifully offset by Michael Richard’s excellent interpretation of the acutely pedantic and fussy Dr Alfred Feldmann. What a joy it must have been for them to be able to perform such a great script. Tom Kempinski handles what could be a depressing subject in a forthright way and infuses the play with muscled banter and much humour, while providing a strong dramatic sequence when Feldmann finally loses his cool.
Should this production be revived at a theatre near you, don’t hesitate to see it. – Caroline Smart
I missed seeing Duet for One when it ran in Durban but was able to catch it at the Witness Hilton Arts Festival.
When setting out my comments on the production, I turned to Maurice Kort’s review for artSMart (http://news.artsmart.co.za/2010/09/duet-for-one_09.html) and realised that he has said it all already.
This KickstArt production is one of the finest to come from this multi-award winning theatre company – again impeccably directed by Steven Stead and skilfully designed by Greg King to fit the situation. At Hilton, the curtains remained open as the audience came in so we were able to take full cognisance of the set as a whole as well as the finer details. I particularly liked the pre-set lighting which emphasised the luxurious throws and cushions.
As Maurice Kort said, the performances were superb. Clare Mortimer’s abrasive character of Stephanie is full of well-controlled flippancy, her jibes and insults hiding her inner turmoil. She is beautifully offset by Michael Richard’s excellent interpretation of the acutely pedantic and fussy Dr Alfred Feldmann. What a joy it must have been for them to be able to perform such a great script. Tom Kempinski handles what could be a depressing subject in a forthright way and infuses the play with muscled banter and much humour, while providing a strong dramatic sequence when Feldmann finally loses his cool.
Should this production be revived at a theatre near you, don’t hesitate to see it. – Caroline Smart
Sunday, September 26, 2010
BAROQUE 2000
Baroque 2000 continues its 2010 season with a concert at the usual venue, the beautiful Church of the Monastery, Mariannhill at 15h00 on September 26: The featured works are Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056 (soloist David Smith) and the same composer's Suite (Overture) no.3, (containing the celebrated Air on the G string) for strings, oboes, trumpets and timpani.Also on the programme are Handel’s Concerto Grosso in D minor, op.3 no.5, for strings and oboes, and an Overture by Telemann.
Tickets R80, will be on sale at the door, and there is plenty of safe parking. Enquiries to Michel on 031 312 5539 or at sursouth@iafrica.com
IMPERIAL TIGER ORCHESTRA
Imperial Tiger Orchestra to hit live music spots of Cape Town, Joburg, Durban, Harare and Maputo.
Inspired by the Golden Age of Ethiopian modern music (1969-1978) Imperial Tiger Orchestra is soon to hit the live music spots of Southern Africa. Their tour includes Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban as well as Harare and Maputo and is presented by Pro Helvetia Cape Town, the Swiss Arts Council.
Founded by Raphaël Anker, Imperial Tiger Orchestra began with an invitation from Cave12, the legendary experimental live music event in Geneva. Given carte blanche to play what he liked, Anker took the opportunity as an admirer of Ethio-Jazz to experiment with a particular music scale, common in Ethiopian music and what they played at the start of their union was more in the style of free jazz and ‘noise’.
While preserving the natural beauty of the Ethiopian melodies and sound, this six-piece Geneva-based orchestra is not to be mistaken for a covers band. Improvising and experimenting, the musicians explore uncharted territories with their powerful instrumentation of horn, percussion and keyboards, adding distortion and noise to the revamped and reworked original vocal songs with the sax or keyboard replacing the singer.
Embracing dark hypnotic rhythms, obsessive basslines and grooves from electronic music, the orchestra members surprise and impress with their use of the traditional Thai "phin" guitar together with the traditional Ethiopian "kebero" percussion. Band members include leader Raphaël Anker (trumpet), John Menoud (baritone saxophone), Alexandre Rodrigues (keys), Cyril Moulas (bass guitar and phin), Julien Israelian (drums) and Luc Détraz (percussion).
A special feature of their Southern African tour is the inclusion of Ethiopian musician Endres Hassen, who plays the masenqo, a traditional single-stringed violin.
Concluding their tour, their Durban concert will taek place on October 9 at 19h30 at the Poetry Africa Finale, BAT Centre, Durban. Tickets R50 at the door.
More information about Imperial Tiger Orchestra and their tour from Eitan Prince at Pro Helvetia Cape Town on 021 465 9033 / 083 254 8789 or visit www.prohelvetia.org.za and www.myspace.com/imperialtigerorchestra
Inspired by the Golden Age of Ethiopian modern music (1969-1978) Imperial Tiger Orchestra is soon to hit the live music spots of Southern Africa. Their tour includes Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban as well as Harare and Maputo and is presented by Pro Helvetia Cape Town, the Swiss Arts Council.
Founded by Raphaël Anker, Imperial Tiger Orchestra began with an invitation from Cave12, the legendary experimental live music event in Geneva. Given carte blanche to play what he liked, Anker took the opportunity as an admirer of Ethio-Jazz to experiment with a particular music scale, common in Ethiopian music and what they played at the start of their union was more in the style of free jazz and ‘noise’.
While preserving the natural beauty of the Ethiopian melodies and sound, this six-piece Geneva-based orchestra is not to be mistaken for a covers band. Improvising and experimenting, the musicians explore uncharted territories with their powerful instrumentation of horn, percussion and keyboards, adding distortion and noise to the revamped and reworked original vocal songs with the sax or keyboard replacing the singer.
Embracing dark hypnotic rhythms, obsessive basslines and grooves from electronic music, the orchestra members surprise and impress with their use of the traditional Thai "phin" guitar together with the traditional Ethiopian "kebero" percussion. Band members include leader Raphaël Anker (trumpet), John Menoud (baritone saxophone), Alexandre Rodrigues (keys), Cyril Moulas (bass guitar and phin), Julien Israelian (drums) and Luc Détraz (percussion).
A special feature of their Southern African tour is the inclusion of Ethiopian musician Endres Hassen, who plays the masenqo, a traditional single-stringed violin.
Concluding their tour, their Durban concert will taek place on October 9 at 19h30 at the Poetry Africa Finale, BAT Centre, Durban. Tickets R50 at the door.
More information about Imperial Tiger Orchestra and their tour from Eitan Prince at Pro Helvetia Cape Town on 021 465 9033 / 083 254 8789 or visit www.prohelvetia.org.za and www.myspace.com/imperialtigerorchestra
NAT AND NATALIE
Colin Penn’s last show for 2010 is Nat and Natalie, featuring the music that topped the charts from the father and daughter duo of Nat King Cole and his daughter Natalie.
Performers will be UKZN Music Department students Njabulo Nzuza and Immaculate Cele who will perform numbers such as Mona Lisa, Autumn Leaves, Fascination, Unforgettable, Paper Moon, Route 66 and Orange Coloured Sky. As usual the show will be backed by Colin Penn's band, The Pennants.
The show will take place on October 3 at 14h30 at Glenwood High School. Tickets R50 booked through Barbara on 031 564 5135.
Performers will be UKZN Music Department students Njabulo Nzuza and Immaculate Cele who will perform numbers such as Mona Lisa, Autumn Leaves, Fascination, Unforgettable, Paper Moon, Route 66 and Orange Coloured Sky. As usual the show will be backed by Colin Penn's band, The Pennants.
The show will take place on October 3 at 14h30 at Glenwood High School. Tickets R50 booked through Barbara on 031 564 5135.
ACT/DALRO/NEDBANK SCHOLARSHIPS
Danville Park Girls' High School’s Zola Myeza among the finalists.
The “Magic in the Making” finals event takes place on September 28, 2010, at the Globe Theatre, Gold Reef City.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT), the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO) and Nedbank have announced the names of the judges for the Finals of the ACT/DALRO/Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships for 2010.
Convener Brenda Devar, ACT Chairperson, well-known actress, singer, writer and arts activist says, “Winning an ACT Performing Arts Scholarship will be a life-changing achievement for two young artists. As convenor of the panel I am deeply cognisant of the responsibility that is vested with us. I believe that the panel is more than equipped for the exacting task of selecting our two recipients.”
Made up of high profile performing arts luminaries, the panel includes well-known theatre producer Richard Loring, Bryan Schimmel, a leading musical director, Tribhangi Dance Theatre Artistic Director Jayesperi Moopen, popular Scandal ‘s actress Nthati Moshesh and Jennis Williamson, an Artist agent and manager.
Nomalanga Nkosi, ACT Programmes Manager, commenting on the panel said, “We are incredibly honoured and excited to have a panel comprising of esteemed theatre, dance, music and industry professionals. It is a great opportunity for these young artists to not only showcase their talents but also to engage with industry leaders and start making some of those connections.”
In the line-up of the exceptional finalists selected from around the country is Zola Myeza, a grade 12 learner from Danville Park Girls' High School in Durban who achieved the national Top 20 in the Shield Teens Dance Competition.
Regional rounds were conducted in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and a national round took place in Grahamstown during the South African National Schools’ Festival. The six finalists will present prepared pieces comprising acting, singing and dancing at the glittering Finals, when a total value of R105,000 will be awarded to two of the six finalists who will be at liberty to select their preferred performing arts course at any accredited South African tertiary institution.
The ACT Scholarships Programme is funded by DALRO and Nedbank and is generously supported by Gold Reef City Casino, Sleepy Gecko Guesthouse, Exclusive Books, Talent Etc, Provantage and ClassicFeel Magazine. ACT is South Africa’s premier, independent arts and culture funding and development agency. For more information visit www.act.org.za
The “Magic in the Making” finals event takes place on September 28, 2010, at the Globe Theatre, Gold Reef City.
The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT), the Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO) and Nedbank have announced the names of the judges for the Finals of the ACT/DALRO/Nedbank Performing Arts Scholarships for 2010.
Convener Brenda Devar, ACT Chairperson, well-known actress, singer, writer and arts activist says, “Winning an ACT Performing Arts Scholarship will be a life-changing achievement for two young artists. As convenor of the panel I am deeply cognisant of the responsibility that is vested with us. I believe that the panel is more than equipped for the exacting task of selecting our two recipients.”
Made up of high profile performing arts luminaries, the panel includes well-known theatre producer Richard Loring, Bryan Schimmel, a leading musical director, Tribhangi Dance Theatre Artistic Director Jayesperi Moopen, popular Scandal ‘s actress Nthati Moshesh and Jennis Williamson, an Artist agent and manager.
Nomalanga Nkosi, ACT Programmes Manager, commenting on the panel said, “We are incredibly honoured and excited to have a panel comprising of esteemed theatre, dance, music and industry professionals. It is a great opportunity for these young artists to not only showcase their talents but also to engage with industry leaders and start making some of those connections.”
In the line-up of the exceptional finalists selected from around the country is Zola Myeza, a grade 12 learner from Danville Park Girls' High School in Durban who achieved the national Top 20 in the Shield Teens Dance Competition.
Regional rounds were conducted in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and a national round took place in Grahamstown during the South African National Schools’ Festival. The six finalists will present prepared pieces comprising acting, singing and dancing at the glittering Finals, when a total value of R105,000 will be awarded to two of the six finalists who will be at liberty to select their preferred performing arts course at any accredited South African tertiary institution.
The ACT Scholarships Programme is funded by DALRO and Nedbank and is generously supported by Gold Reef City Casino, Sleepy Gecko Guesthouse, Exclusive Books, Talent Etc, Provantage and ClassicFeel Magazine. ACT is South Africa’s premier, independent arts and culture funding and development agency. For more information visit www.act.org.za
BREED
(Pic: Thami Baba and Nox Danyeli play daughter and mother in one of the show’s most memorable moments).Fine performances all round in thought-provoking piece. (Review by Caroline Smart)
Presented by the multi award-winning Ubom! Eastern Cape Drama Company, Breed deservedly won an Ovation Award at the 2010 National Arts Festival. These awards recognise and celebrate innovation and excellence on the Fringe programme of the NAF by putting the spotlight on cutting edge work that is strong, diverse and original.
I missed this one in Grahamstown but was delighted to catch it at the Witness Hilton Arts Festival last week. Described as a story of deceit and dark disappointments, it is set in the rural Eastern Cape. Field glasses ever at the ready, an embittered farmer (Andrew Buckland) is keeping a watchful eye on the veld where squatters are moving into a disused building on his property.
Conversely, we see the delight on the faces of a mother (Nox Danyeli) and daughter (Thami Baba) as they find a place to live where there is something to sleep on and – luxury of all luxuries - a table. Pretty soon they are joined by a glamorously dressed woman (Tshego Khutsoane) and a man who appears to be suffering from any number of aches and pains (Sisonke Yafele). Suddenly their new home houses five.
Back at the farmhouse, a delivery man (Dean Van Der Vental) battles to deliver a parcel but is continually thwarted by a vicious pit bull terrier called Vleis (voiced by Buckland, I hazard to guess!), despite numerous and innovative attempts to achieve his task. The dog is then moved to the veld to guard the borehole and a particularly beautiful scene happens when Thami Baba sings Bach to (the invisible) Vleis and he responds with pants and howls.
Then there’s Pearl (Ilana Cilliers), the farmer’s talented violinist daughter who decides to come home from working in Europe to give free violin lessons to any young person in the township who shows an interest.
Skilfully directed by Janet Buckland and written by Brink Scholtz in collaboration with the cast, this is a beautiful piece of theatre with fine performances all round. There are dark moments as the farmer comes to realise how his actions have wreaked consequences that have made his position even more untenable than before. A good soundtrack and music backing adds to the quality of the production. – Caroline Smart
Saturday, September 25, 2010
IS IT BECAUSE I'M JACK?
(Pic: Mike van Graan)Latest play from Mike van Graan is a dark comedy about life, friendship and survival.
Is It Because I'm Jack? is the latest play from the pen of award-winning South African playwright Mike van Graan, author of Green Man Flashing, Two to Tango and the hit satirical franchise Bafana Republic.
A very dark comedy about life, friendship and survival, Is It Because I'm Jack explores what happens when four young friends in the prime of their lives are forced to confront their mortality after one of them - a stand up comic - is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Is it all just a bad joke?
Due to premier at the Aardklop arts festival in Potchefstroom on September 26, Jack has a stellar cast including Clyde Berning, Anele Matoti, Morne Visser and Andrew Laubscher. The director is Yvette Hardie.
A comedy about mortality? If anyone can tackle that, it's van Graan, who has never shied away from controversial and provocative themes. "If I have a brand as a playwright, then it is that I engage with the pressing macro political, social and economic issues of the day. Is it Because I'm Jack? is my first largely character- (rather than issue-) driven dark comedy. It still raises provocative questions that will hopefully have audiences thinking for some time afterwards, but it allows - and challenges - me to grow as a writer, while having some fun."
After Aardklop, Is It Because I’m Jack? will have runs at On Broadway in Cape Town from October 5 to 15 before moving to the State Theatre in Pretoria to run from October 18 to 30.
KZNPO CONCERT: SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
Exceptional performance from soloist at second concert of KZNPO spring season. (Review by Michael Green)
Two intensely patriotic composers, Frederic Chopin of Poland and Antonin Dvorak of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), provided the music for this most enjoyable concert in the Durban City Hall, the second of the spring season of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra.
The conductor was again the accomplished Victor Yampolsky, who was born in Russia and who has lived in the United States for many years. The soloist was the pianist Vassily Primakov, who was born in Moscow 31 years ago and who now spends much of his time in America.
Vassily Primakov had scored a great success with a Chopin programme for the Friends of Music a week earlier, and he repeated the achievement in his appearance with the orchestra. He played Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, written when the composer was only 19 (it is actually the first of Chopin’s two concertos but is called No. 2 because it was published second).
Vassily Primakov is a superb player. Tall and lean, he has a calm demeanour at the piano and he is in total command of his instrument. He played Chopin’s glittering virtuoso passages with brilliance but with the bright, light touch that was surely what the composer wanted. And in the slow movement, the celebrated Larghetto, his cantabile tone was lovely to hear. He has the ultimate quality of a good pianist, the ability to convey quiet sounds to the far reaches of a big hall, and the audience seemed to be entranced as he did just that in the concerto’s many lyrical passages.
It was an exceptional performance. In response to prolonged applause the pianist gave an encore, one of the finest and most eloquent of Rachmaninov’s many preludes, Op. 23 No. 6 in E flat major.
The concert opened with a rarity, the Bajka overture by the nineteenth century Polish composer Stanislaw Moniuszko, who was very popular in his time and in his own country. It was a pleasant, deftly scored piece with some attractive tunes.
The main work of the evening was Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7 in D minor. This is more serious, intense and turbulent that many of this composer’s works. Conducting without a score, Victor Yampolsky guided the players through the symphony’s varied moods and many subtleties. Dvorak gives virtually every player in the orchestra some opportunity to shine, and the KZNPO responded with a splendid performance. In particular, the woodwind and the brass provided many memorable moments.
The symphony’s tremendous ending, overpowering sound with a triumphant shift from D minor to D major, was followed by a well-merited ovation from an excited audience. - Michael Green
PHANSI PHEZULU FESTIVAL
The Phansi Phezulu Festival took place at Stable Theatre and outside venues with the Break-thru dance company appearing on September 21 at 19h00 at Stable Theatre. Sanele Mzinyane's Durbansoul's solo work was presented on September 22 at the Durban market area.
Nkoto Maleby's Bana Babong from Johannesburg was presented on September 23 at 13h00 at Stable Theatre’s outside area and Durbansoul Productions multimedia show took place on September 24 at 19h00. More information on Phansi Phezulu on 079 167 5935
Nkoto Maleby's Bana Babong from Johannesburg was presented on September 23 at 13h00 at Stable Theatre’s outside area and Durbansoul Productions multimedia show took place on September 24 at 19h00. More information on Phansi Phezulu on 079 167 5935
BITTERSWEET
(Pic: Ashim Saxena and Shalini Singh)Stage play tackles the harsh realities of colonialism in the 1800’s.
Escaping the punishment of being a widow in India, a young lady boards a ship to join the indentured recruits on route to Africa. She finds herself on the plantation of a wealthy farmer where the slave supervisor seeks to exploit her. Friends are made and hearts are broken whilst the chances of surviving in this new land become more of a distant reality than expected. The Indians turn on each other in these volatile conditions; but they also turn to each other. Action becomes impulsive and survival becomes instinctive. Will love and compassion save the day?
Yusuf Haffejee’s stage play BitterSweet tackles the harsh realities of colonialism in the 1800’s. While records reveal that spirits were broken and love was lost, the Indians in South Africa have made a major contribution to the economy since then. They have contributed to its development and freedom. Yusuf handed over the task of producing this very sensitive but entertaining piece to Farouk Hoosen who has a solid history in the theatre business.
The production celebrates the 150th anniversary of the arrivals of Indians to the shores of South Africa and stringent casting was enforced to identify actors that not only suited the roles but had the talent to carry out the responsibility of their importance.
Director Pranesh Maharaj states: “BitterSweet will appeal to today’s audience in that it captures the heart with its love story, accounts for the very existence of the brown man in South Africa and descends on the masters of this plan that sought to exploit people whom they never expected to rise out of the ash.”
The cast includes Shalini Singh (Selvie in Lotus FM’s radio drama Lollipop Lane), former stand-up comedian Ruben Naidoo and Lovie Ramas Rai recently back in Durban from Cape Town after playing Mothi in Ronnie Govender’s Lahnee’s Pleasure at Artscape. Also appearing will be Denver Naidoo who appeared in various local films including Run for your Life and Broken Promises; Raj Naidoo who is an accountant by profession, and Indian National Ashim Saxena who has only been in South Africa for six months.
Coinciding with the premier of the show is the launch of Raag Rung, a CD by the talented and renowned Ustad Ravi and his Foundation for Indian Music. “The group will also feature live at every performance, providing the background score to this incredible story,” explains Pranesh Maharah. “The synergy of a great script and the sounds provided by these musicians is one to look forward to as this combination is very rare.”
BitterSweet runs in the Howard College Theatre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal from September 29 to October 10. Tickets R80 and R60 available from Computicket. Organisations looking to make use of this show to raise funds should contact Farouk on 084 581 8186.
SWAN LAKE
You’ll either hate it … or, like me, love it! (review by Caroline Smart)I wasn’t able to see Dada Masilo’s new work, Swan Lake, in Grahamstown which was a real disappointment to me. Having seen her other productions, Romeo and Juliet and Carmen, I was very eager to see how she was going to plant her stamp (pun intended!) on this classic ballet piece. So I was delighted that it was earmarked as the flagship production of the recent Witness Hilton Arts Festival and I booked my media ticket in gleeful anticipation.
“You can expect surprises,” Dada Masilo said in an interview in Grahamstown with Laea Medley reporter for the festival’s Cue magazine, on July 1. “I took a very different approach to this production, I worked with a really great cast and I tried not to make them look ridiculous in terms of costumes.”
Surprises there certainly were. The dancers wear tutus – both male and female. There’s not a pointe shoe or a pair of tights in sight and the narrator has a Mohican hairstyle and a flashy bolero and carries a riding crop. He takes the audience through the various aspects of the ballet, like “The Surplus Girls in the Moonlight”, “seaweed arms”, the “virility splits”, the classic “Let’s Get Married” dance and the “Nobody Loves Me All Fall down” movement. No wilting violets these, these swans have serious attitude!
In the same interview, Masilo stated: “I try not to have a distinct signature because that will put me in a box and that’s boring. I like to challenge myself. Many choreographers get into the pattern of using the same steps to different music and I think that’s lazy choreography. It should change all the time.
With her Swan Lake, Masilo takes ballet and turns it on its head with gentle send-ups of the traditional swanlike movements like the classic bent wrist and hand depicting a swan’s neck and head. It’s irreverent and deliciously funny but at the same time there is evident respect for the original work and that of the Dying Swan which is also featured. Gasps of amused (or horrified!) recognition came from the cognoscenti and those who know the ballet well.
Instead of being smitten with Odette, this Siegfried’s attentions are firmly focused on Odile who happens to be a man, bringing a new twist to the eternal triangle. Fouettés, jetes and pirouettes are juxtaposed with traditional African movements and contemporary dance, all seamlessly mixed to make a believable whole. You’ll never see Swan Lake in the same light again. – Caroline Smart
Thursday, September 23, 2010
ONE HIT WONDERS
(Pic: Georgina Mabbett, Janine de Froberville, Richard Alberts, Doug Shewell, Hannah Thomson & Kerry Brown)First amateur group to perform at Heritage acquits itself well. (Review by Caroline Smart)
The Company of Theatre Arts may well be the first group of amateur players to grace Heritage Theatre but it certainly acquits itself well in this fast-moving musical production which pays tribute to the songs and artists who have had a number one hit, and often never heard of again.
One Hit Wonders is directed and choreographed by Fiona Barnes-Snyder, with musical direction by Liz Cunningham. With its 14-strong cast, it is an ambitious production to mount especially when the members are not full-time professional actors and work schedules have to be juggled for rehearsals and performances.
The Company of Theatre Arts (COTA) members are strictly amateur. It is a non-profit theatrical organisation that has been in existence in the greater Durban area for over 23 years. COTA’s ambition is to stage one production a year, aimed at giving up-and-coming performers the opportunity to utilise COTA as a starting point or stepping stone to launch a professional career, whilst giving others (who might be supremely-talented but don't wish to pursue a full-time stage career) the chance to entertain audiences in shows of an exceptionally high standard.
Current Durban professional performers who honed their skills with COTA include John Didlick, Gary Mackenzie and Grant Bell of The Gee Jays, Melanie Roberts, Karen Campbell-Gillies, Ricky McGregor and, more recently, Jonathon Didlick and Jacqui Majoor. Even Colin Moss started his career as a pre-teenager in a COTA production of Pippin in 1986.
Settings for the two acts are simple but effective – the first being a café street scene and the other a nightclub bar.
Introducing the show as a tramp character, Neil Snyder provides much amusement and in the second act he gets to wear some whacky outfits. Tall Scott McConnell provides a laconic foil for Jaco de Wet’s dof characters and Richard Alderts’ macho numbers while Doug Shewell impresses in the dance sequences. Female leads Georgina Mabbett and Leigh Meyer impress with their talents, they could walk onto any professional stage tomorrow.
The dance team comprises Hannah Thomson (who considerably impressed me), Janine de Froberville, Kerry Brown, Leigh Meyer, Tarique Mullany, Meghan Moore and Lauren Alblas.
My biggest problem – and one that is unfortunately a consistent one with the Heritage – is that the sound was unbalanced with backing tracks way too loud, often leaving performers at a disadvantage. A song is made up of two components – lyrics and melody – and neither one should overshadow the other. With tracks played at party-time level, one desperately missed the nuances, subtleties and musically dramatic moments of what is an impressive line-up of numbers.
I enjoyed Walking on Sunshine, My Boy Lollipop, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Bitch, I’ve Never been to Me, Dock of the Bay, Boots are made for Walking, You Light up my Life, Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head, Searching My Soul, Play that funky Music and Centrefold. Crowd favourites were Macarena, Mambo No.5, I Like the Way (You Move) and I’m too Sexy. Highlights for me were Raining Men and Knock on Wood
One Hit Wonders runs until October 3. Tickets R190 (Wednesday to Saturday at 19h00) include a two-course meal (R165 Tuesday at 19h00 and Sunday lunch at 12h30). There are several changes on the menu for this show. Starters offered Eish Chicken Livers and Asian Beef Salad but I chose the Spring Italian Salad and loved its clean fresh taste. On the main menu, there’s Mozzarella and Feta Stuffed Chicken as well as Foil Baked Sole marinated in Lemon, white wine and thyme – a good choice if you like your fish with a strong taste. I opted for the Premium Cut Sirloin drizzled with a Peppercorn Sauce which I enjoyed. The vegetarian option is Baked Mushrooms topped with Garlic and Mozzarella. The dessert menu is an optional extra.
Bookings on 031 765 4197 or online at http://www.heritagetheatre.co.za – Caroline Smart
SHALL WE DANCE
The 19th Shall We Dance at the Playhouse Opera an evening of superlatives. (Review by Maurice Kort)I don't know where I have been the last 18 years but this is the first time I have seen this annual award winning dance extravaganza Shall We Dance directed and produced by Neville Letard and Caryl Cuzens in association with the Playhouse Company and the South African Dance Teachers Association KwaZulu-Natal. It is a delight from start to end and the talent from all involved is mind boggling, especially considering they are all amateurs, albeit with many championship titles.
The dance companies involved are Neville Letard's 'nSync, Ryan Yunnie's Dance Basics, Pam Gandy's Razzmatazz, the Mark Wilson Dancers and The Young Dancers' Project (Minette de Klerk, Candice Danielz and Penny Lundall). Joining these versatile dancers are the special guest artistes Danny Stowell and Kate Moore from England, currently ranking in the top 12 amateur Latin Rising Stars in the 2010 United Kingdom and British Opens - and no wonder - and Devon Snell and Meagan Lottering from Cape Town who continue their climb to stardom in the amateur ranks. In addition, Statik (Selwyn Rautenbach and Clinton Green) make a welcome return after their very well received appearance in last year's production and their Pop is a show stopper. Back by popular demand, Damon Beard of East Coast Radio is once again the compère for Shall We Dance. Making a very welcome debut is Jaziel Vaugh'hann, another talented product of KwaZulu-Natal.
Complementing this amazing line-up of musical talent - Damon Beard even takes a turn at the waltz with a volunteer from the audience - are excellent backing tracks - the opening overture I've Got Rhythm sounded as if there was a live orchestra in the orchestra pit. In addition there are superb lighting effects, magnificent chandeliers and set changes with the Playhouse having pulled out all the stops. There is never a static or a dull moment. The Phantom of the Opera number could have come straight from the West End.
The directors have compiled an evening to include many dance styles, with an underlying ballroom and Latin American theme covering both these styles as well as hip-hop, modern, ballet, tap, Spanish and American smooth. Indeed the Spanish dancing number Concerto de Aranjuez, South Africa's own version of Cirque de Olé (Gopher Mambo) and Slap that Bass by the Young Dancers' Project showed unbelievable talent and precision. Also particularly enjoyable, in an evening of one highlight after another, were With One Look and It Don't Mean a Thing (Devon and Meagan); Jazz Machine and My Baby Just Cares for Me (Danny and Kate); Pink Panther and If They Could See Me Now ('nSync); Angel and I Left My Heart in San Francisco (Jaziel and Razzmatazz); If I Were a Boy (The Mark Wilson Dancers); and Baby (Dance Basics)
This glorious 19th annual Shall We Dance dance extravaganza featuring over 100 dancers and top award-winning soloists has a short season until September 25. Tickets R100 (R60 pensioners/scholars. The Heritage Day (September 24) show at 15h00 offers tickets at R60 throughout (no concessions). There is also a matinee on September 25 at 15h00. Other remaining performances are at 19h30. Booking at Computicket. – Maurice Kort
DAVID & GOLIATH
(Pic: Sean de Klerk and Jaziel Vaugh’hann)Fun for the kids in the September holidays!
After a successful season during the July school holidays of Jonah and the Whale, Jaziel Vaugh’hann is back with his all new “Kids Edutainment”, education through entertainment show. Pairing up with well-known Durban actor Sean De Klerk, David and Goliath is set to be loads of fun.
If you are in or around the Umbilo/ Glenwood, Overport or Morningside area and are looking for some fun and exciting activities for youngsters during the school holidays, the Rhumbelow Theatre in Cunningham Road, Umbilo is now offering exactly that.
An exciting and educational musical adaptation of the story of David and Goliath (this is David & Goliath in 2010, note!), the show uses fun and familiar singalongs, dancing, sock puppets, toys, creative kids crafts and colour-in competitions. This fun and exciting theatre experience will get children actively involved as it teaches them social interaction as well as group activity and independence.
David and Goliath runs from September 27 to October 2 with two shows per day – at 11h00 and 14h30. The show is an hour and a half long and suitable for ages 4 to 12. A variety of snacks, juices and colas will be on sale. Book early as tickets are limited. Tickets R50.ticket booked through Computicket.
Monday, September 20, 2010
U SHRINIVAS
(Pic: U Shrinivas)The KZN Philharmonic Orchestra is excited to be performing with renowned Indian mandolin maestro U Shrinivas.
The concert is part of the Shared History – The Indian Experience Festival which will be held at the Durban City Hall on September 22 at 19h30.
Shrinivas is credited with reviving the mandolin as an instrument and giving it a respectable status in the world of classical music. When he was only six years old, his parents came home one day to find him playing his father’s mandolin. Inspired by the boy's interest in music, his father taught his son what little music he knew, and Shrinivas began playing Carnatic music on the mandolin. This child prodigy soon developed his own style of playing and was propelled into the limelight at the age of nine – and, several awards and world tours later, he has not looked back.
Anil K Sharan, Consul General of India says, “It is an amazing opportunity for us all to be part of the fourth Shared History festival, which perfectly blends with the festivity and spirit prevailing in the Rainbow nation – South Africa and the largest Democracy of the world - India. This month-long colourful festival will provide us with a cultural platform, like the FIFA World Cup which provided a sports platform, to bring all the shades of the South African society together and understand and appreciate the culture of another country.”
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to see Africa’s premiere orchestra, the KZN Philharmonic collaborating with Indian Classical artists proving that there is no style of music that the orchestra cannot adapt to.
Tickets range from R80 to R180 and bookings is at Computicket on 083 915 8000,. Extra security guards have been contracted by the KZN Philharmonic and will be placed in the surrounding areas of the Durban City Hall for the security and safety of patrons.
For more information contact 031 369 9438 or log onto www.kznpo.co.za or click on the KZNPO advert at the top of this page.
KZNPO CONCERT: SEPTEMBER 16
(Pic by Ursula Markus: Swiss violinist Sibylle Tschopp)Highly accomplished soloist, a seasoned and skilful conductor and full strength orchestra in top form. (Review by Michael Green)
A big audience attended this opening concert of the spring season of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra; there was an unusually long queue at the Durban City Hall waiting to buy on-the-night tickets, which cost substantially less than booked subscribers’ tickets.
All those present were, I think, well pleased with the outcome: a concert which presented a highly accomplished soloist, a seasoned and skilful conductor and the orchestra at full strength, about 70 players, and in top form.
The conductor was the 68-year-old Victor Yampolsky, who grew up in Russia but has lived in the United States for the past 37 years. He has visited Durban several times before and seems to have a particularly good rapport with the orchestra. This, plus his great experience and musical insight, extracts the best results from our players.
The soloist was Sibylle Tschopp, a Swiss violinist, from Zurich. She is in her late thirties, and she has an imposing record as a performer in Europe and America. Clad in a royal blue evening gown, her slender figure was a picture of cool confidence as she played Tchaikovsky’s beautiful and formidably difficult Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35.
This is one of the high points of the entire concerto repertory, and it seems hardly credible now that it was mercilessly attacked after its first performance in Vienna in 1881. It has wonderful melodies, some of them based on Slavonic folk tunes, brilliant orchestration, and a captivating solo part. Sibylle Tschopp and the orchestra did full justice to the music, and at the end the soloist was rewarded with a prolonged ovation.
This was a splendid start to the new season, and the high standard was maintained in Shostakovich’s Symphony No 5 in D minor, Op. 47. This symphony was a sensation when it was first performed in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) in 1937. It is widely varied in mood: at different times it is powerful, sinister, lyrical, solemn, stately, slightly humorous. And, as I mentioned in a pre-concert lecture (to the considerable amusement of my audience) you can even detect at one point in the first movement a brief touch of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who of course wrote his music 40 years later.
Victor Yampolsky knows this work very well. He conducted without a score, and he controlled the entire performance with an admirable grasp of the structure of the symphony as a whole.
This is one of those works that demonstrate dramatically the fact that no recorded performance, on CD or television or radio, is quite the same as a live performance. The Durban City Hall reverberated with Shostakovich’s massive sound effects, and the symphony’s overwhelming conclusion left the audience quite stunned, a moment’s silence, then wild applause. A truly memorable occasion. - Michael Green
SWAN LAKE
Margaret von Klemperer reviews The Witness Hilton Festival 2010 Flagship Production. (Courtesy of The Witness)
There were probably purists who came out of the theatre after seeing brilliant dancer/choreographer Dada Masilo’s Swan Lake feeling a bit wobbly. This is not the trad version. Tchaikovsky’s haunting music is there, some of it, and there are tutus, on the blokes as well as the girls. But other things are changed – utterly. And wonderfully.
Swan Lake opens with a quick rundown on the absurdities of ballet – why men do the “virility splits”, the problems of the girls who never get the guy, and so on. They could have added the unusual world ballet inhabits, where women turn into swans. So, when you think about it, Masilo’s Swan Lake, where Prince Siegfried fancies Odile rather than the flirtatious Odette because Odile is a bloke, is a more realistic outcome. Masilo is not afraid to use Swan Lake as a vehicle to explore sexuality, or the boundaries between Africa and Europe.
Her stage presence is extraordinary, holding the eye wherever she is. She has combined classical ballet with contemporary dance – the African wedding scene a splendid example. There are laughs at the expense of tradition, but not laughs of disrespect. Just a reminder that it doesn’t all have to be taken too seriously. And in the final scene, Odette’s agonising grief is as moving as you will ever see on a ballet stage. - Margaret von Klemperer
There were probably purists who came out of the theatre after seeing brilliant dancer/choreographer Dada Masilo’s Swan Lake feeling a bit wobbly. This is not the trad version. Tchaikovsky’s haunting music is there, some of it, and there are tutus, on the blokes as well as the girls. But other things are changed – utterly. And wonderfully.
Swan Lake opens with a quick rundown on the absurdities of ballet – why men do the “virility splits”, the problems of the girls who never get the guy, and so on. They could have added the unusual world ballet inhabits, where women turn into swans. So, when you think about it, Masilo’s Swan Lake, where Prince Siegfried fancies Odile rather than the flirtatious Odette because Odile is a bloke, is a more realistic outcome. Masilo is not afraid to use Swan Lake as a vehicle to explore sexuality, or the boundaries between Africa and Europe.
Her stage presence is extraordinary, holding the eye wherever she is. She has combined classical ballet with contemporary dance – the African wedding scene a splendid example. There are laughs at the expense of tradition, but not laughs of disrespect. Just a reminder that it doesn’t all have to be taken too seriously. And in the final scene, Odette’s agonising grief is as moving as you will ever see on a ballet stage. - Margaret von Klemperer
MR GOITCH’S CURIOUS CABINET
Review by Margaret von Klemperer of production at Hilton Festival 2010. (Courtesy of The Witness)
Creative Madness, in the shape of Bryan Hiles and Peter Court offer entertainment for kids of all ages from Mr Goitch’s Curious Cabinet (full title The Curious Cabinet and Mysterious Memorabilia of Mr Goitch). They say they are drawing on Victorian toy and shadow theatre; but what they do is really closer to old-fashioned storytelling with props. It is impossible to compete with computer generated stuff and special effects, so to hold the attention of 21st Century kids, the personality of the storyteller is all, and these two Durban theatre veterans have it in spades.
Their props are, on occasion, beyond cheesy, and the stories they took from the cabinet at the performance I saw were hardly new, but they hold their audience by the amiability of their performance and by something most kids seldom see as they stare at a screen: live people interacting with them. And that interaction is what matters if you are going to create an audience for the future. - Margaret von Klemperer
Creative Madness, in the shape of Bryan Hiles and Peter Court offer entertainment for kids of all ages from Mr Goitch’s Curious Cabinet (full title The Curious Cabinet and Mysterious Memorabilia of Mr Goitch). They say they are drawing on Victorian toy and shadow theatre; but what they do is really closer to old-fashioned storytelling with props. It is impossible to compete with computer generated stuff and special effects, so to hold the attention of 21st Century kids, the personality of the storyteller is all, and these two Durban theatre veterans have it in spades.
Their props are, on occasion, beyond cheesy, and the stories they took from the cabinet at the performance I saw were hardly new, but they hold their audience by the amiability of their performance and by something most kids seldom see as they stare at a screen: live people interacting with them. And that interaction is what matters if you are going to create an audience for the future. - Margaret von Klemperer
NORMALITY
Review by Margaret von Klemperer of production at Hilton Festival 2010. (Courtesy of The Witness)
It is a risk to put an uncomfortable subject like the interaction between a disabled person and the world on a stage. Audiences tend to shy away. Here, Pedro Kruger is Alex, a man crippled by Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and he tells, with humour and anger, of his life. For me, the discomfort of the subject was exacerbated by the opening scene of the devil spinning the wheel of fortune at Alex’s birth; it gets things off on the wrong foot.
But once past that – the question of fate, or God, or fault – there are some fine moments: Alex in a rave club; Alex buying a Speedo to go to the beach with his girlfriend; Alex and his aunt looking for a parking bay. The piece, which was originally scripted in Afrikaans, was a hit in this translation on the Edinburgh Fringe, and is ultimately carried by its humour and the strength of Kruger’s performance which takes his audience along with him, rooting for Alex. - Margaret von Klemperer
”Normality” is directed by Shirley Ellis with text and lyrics by Hennie van Greunen and music by Pedro Kruger
It is a risk to put an uncomfortable subject like the interaction between a disabled person and the world on a stage. Audiences tend to shy away. Here, Pedro Kruger is Alex, a man crippled by Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and he tells, with humour and anger, of his life. For me, the discomfort of the subject was exacerbated by the opening scene of the devil spinning the wheel of fortune at Alex’s birth; it gets things off on the wrong foot.
But once past that – the question of fate, or God, or fault – there are some fine moments: Alex in a rave club; Alex buying a Speedo to go to the beach with his girlfriend; Alex and his aunt looking for a parking bay. The piece, which was originally scripted in Afrikaans, was a hit in this translation on the Edinburgh Fringe, and is ultimately carried by its humour and the strength of Kruger’s performance which takes his audience along with him, rooting for Alex. - Margaret von Klemperer
”Normality” is directed by Shirley Ellis with text and lyrics by Hennie van Greunen and music by Pedro Kruger
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