(Tim Moloi & Judith Sephuma. Pix courtesy of Tim Moloi)
Playhouse Company hits
the mark with admirable festive production. (Review by Keith Millar)
To celebrate is to
rejoice and enjoy entertaining activities in order to acknowledge an important
occasion. Well, the Playhouse Company certainly hit the mark with their admirable
production A Christmas Celebration.
With a programme that
was jam-packed with a wide variety of Christmas entertainment, there certainly
was enough to keep everyone happy. With an abundance of tinsel, glitter,
glamour bright lights, colourful costumes and sparkling sets to go along with
the appearance of elves, reindeer - and even Santa Claus - there was plenty of
good cheer and festive season spirit in the air.
The programme
included singing talent such as the impressive jazz artist Judith Sephuma,
crooner Tim Moloi, tenor Bongani Tembe, soprano Lauren Dasappa and Nondumiso
Tembe. There was also a 200 strong choir which was a combination of the
Playhouse Chorale, and the Assemblies of God Church Choir. National Champion
School Choir, the Mthwalume Boys Choir also made an appearance.
Most music lovers
will agree that the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra is a very special
Durban treasure. It was this marvellous orchestra, conducted by Lykele Temmingh
that provided the musical accompaniment for the production. For this occasion they
were unfortunately tucked away in the orchestra pit and could not always be
heard to maximum advantage.
The Playhouse Dance
Residency, together with leading Durban Dance Schools, performed several
excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s wonderful Nutcracker
Suite. It was lovely entertainment with some impressive dance. The very
young dancers on show covered themselves in glory and scored very high on the
cuteness scale.
The Blue Fire
Trapeze/Silk Artists put in a spectacular performance to a backing of Ravel’s
stirring Bolero. Their antics and the
trapeze swing and on the silk drapes were breathtaking and seemingly death-defying.
The Quattro Femmes
String Quartet made an appearance and played Santa is coming to Town. Unfortunately, despite the use of
microphones, their efforts were drowned out by the volume from the orchestra. Also one of their violinists zoomed
around on roller-skates for no apparent reason.
The choirs sung
with passion and elegance, providing several Christmas carols as well as
excerpts from Handel’s Messiah. Their
rendition of the Halleluiah Chorus
was particularly moving.
Of the solo singers,
my highlights were Judith Sephuma’s I
Know My Redeemer Liveth, Lauren Dasappa’s Glory to God in the Highest and Bongani Tembe’s Oh Holy
Night – surely one of the most beautiful Christmas songs ever written- and The Lord’s Prayer. Tembe is the Chief
Executive of the KZN Philharmonic and one of the country’s leading arts
administrators. I am not sure when he gets time to practice his singing, but he
was in fine voice on the night.
Direction of this
joyous occasion was in the experienced hands of Ralph Lawson.
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