Now in its sixth year
at St. Clements in Musgrave Road, the popular Mondays @ Six at six programme at
St Clements cultivates a culture of bistro entertainment – such as art, poetry,
music, film, drama etc. The 2014 season will opens tomorrow (February 17)
Professor Pieter
Scholtz is one of the prime movers of this programme and these are his thoughts
about its beginnings:
What is special about this quaint garden restaurant in
Musgrave Road? I first fell under the spell of its magic, sitting at a table in
the shade of a tree laden with grapefruit. At the time I wondered about the
name, St. Clements? I concluded it must be a reference to the “bells of St.
Clements”, since it was situated right next to St. Thomas’s Church. Well, I was
wrong. I discovered that its owner was Steve Clements. I guess his name and
proximity to the church led to him being a saint!
A few unsolicited words about Steve. He is a man of many
talents. I first became addicted to his Chicken Chilli Noodles when he ran a
bustling little restaurant in a nursery off Vause Road. I discovered that he
had learned his trade working as a chef for some years in Thailand. When he
moved to Musgrave Road and opened St. Clements, we followed him – ‘we’
signifying a group of eccentrically creative guys, writers, artists, musicians
and the like, who met every Friday morning to talk about cabbages and kings,
and to enjoy a delicious petit déjeuner.
It was through Steve and his garden restaurant that we had
the idea of a performance venue, providing a meeting place for writers, artists
and those seeking creative stimulation. And it was thus that Mondays at Six at St. Clements was born.
The idea was to entertain ourselves and the “discerning”
public with entertainment of a high quality. We particularly wished to include
marginalized art forms such as poetry readings and book launches together with
musical and dramatic performances in our programmes. We chose Monday evenings,
much to the dismay of some, because many theatres and restaurants are closed on
Mondays. We also chose to provide the entertainment free of charge to cultivate
a culture of bistro entertainment in the European tradition – informal, relaxed
entertainment in a pleasant setting.
February 17: Jacob’s
Smile and Other Stories. Launch of Pieter Scholtz’s new collection of short
stories. Jacob’s Smile won an award
in the Anglo Platinum Short Story competition in 2006. Thereby hangs a tale
which is recounted in one of several stories.
February 24: Ian Player features in Rick and Gill Andrew’s
filmed interview with him. The programme had a foretaste last year when a short
extract from the film was screened. The film will now be screened in its
entirety, lasting 70 minutes. There will be an interval and time for questions
after the screening.
March 3: Pat Smythe and his alter ego Spyker Koekemoer will
present A Caber Of Tossers, three stories
of wit and wisdom.
March 10: Zulu Mythology and Storytelling. Ida Gartrell’s
presentation includes four creation stories illustrating ancient traditional
beliefs: The Creation of the World; The Chameleon
and the Lizard; The Little Red Bird and The
Boy and the Cow.
March 17: Rusty Links
II - The launch of Jayson Watts’ new collection of mirth and mayhem. Last
year the launch of Rusty Links
proclaimed Jayson as a strident, abrasive and utterly riveting storyteller. His
blend of pictures and words explored new horizons.
March 24: Something
Borrowed, Something New - Natalie Winter sings some French ballads, and
some of her own.
March 31: Adi Paxton presents a mix of magical mayhem,
puppetry and storytelling, sharing tales from her work which ranges from Cherry
the Magical Clown to Puppet stories and visual illusions.
Table bookings 031 202 2511 There is no cover charge although
there is a donations box to support presenters. If you would like to be on the Mondays
@ St Clements mailing list, please send your name, telephone number and email
address to kwasuka1@mweb.co.za. You will be informed about the programme on a
regular basis.
Posts
