Courtesy of Billy Suter (sosuterbill.com)
(Shelly
MacLean and dancers who are part of the cast of A Christmas Celebration at
Durban's Playhouse this festive season)
Durban’s Playhouse Company is putting the
wraps on a bumper package of 2019 festive season entertainment – glossy treats
including a sumptuous ballet suitable for the whole family; a must-see concert
showcasing top jazz talent; a sketch-based comedy show; a musical-comedy penned
by award-winning Clinton Marius; and a colourful play for the young, centred on
African wildlife.
Regular free Sundowner Concerts as well as
that perennial Christmas cracker, A
Christmas Celebration – featuring popular festive season songs and carols
performed by diverse artists and the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra – will also be
back at the company’s theatre complex in the Durban city centre.
“Directed by Ralph Lawson with choreography
by Luyanda Sidiya, A Christmas
Celebration is a slick, colourful show that always encapsulates the spirit
of the holiday season, and this year will be no exception. However, it is not
the only glittering treat in our festive season programme which offers something
for everyone,” says Linda Bukhosini, Chief Executive Officer and Artistic
Director of The Playhouse Company.
(Director
Ralph Lawson will direct “A Christmas Celebration”)
“The Playhouse Company will spread good
cheer even further this year with the second annual Okwethu Community Arts
Festival, an outreach initiative offering a mix of free entertainment in the
Uvongo Town Hall on December 6 and the Kokstad Youth Centre on December 7,” she
adds.
This event, highlighting various art forms
and upcoming local talent, was first held in 2018 in Umlazi and The Playhouse
Company plans to rotate it annually, every December, eventually reaching all
corners of the province.
The eagerly anticipated Playhouse Company
production of the Disney musical Beauty
and the Beast, originally scheduled as the 2019 festive season flagship
production, with direction by Ralph Lawson and choreography by Adele Blank, has
regrettably been moved to a later date, explains Bukhosini.
“Sadly, circumstances beyond our control
came into play which necessitated us dropping that well-loved musical from this
year’s festive season schedule. However, there is good news – the production,
inspired by the Oscar-winning 1991 animated movie, has been secured for the
Playhouse Company’s 2020 end-of-year attractions.”
The following is the festive season line-up
from The Playhouse Company, an agency of the Department of Arts and Culture,
which embraces the government’s principles of social cohesion and
nation-building:
FUDUKAZI’S
MAGIC
(November 26 to December 7 in the Playhouse
Grand Foyer)
The art of storytelling is a highly
respected traditional activity in Africa and the versatile Gcina Mhlophe, an
award-winning artist based in Durban but globally acclaimed, is one of few
women prominent in this art form dominated by males.
(Right: Durban
storyteller Gcina Mhlophe will star in and has written “Fudukazi's Magic”, a
play for the young)
So it is with excitement and pride that The
Playhouse Company announces it will be presenting Mhlophe’s delightful Fudukazi’s Magic, based on the widely
published children’s book of the same title.
The versatile Mhlophe has written and
directed, and also features, in this colourful play for the young of all ages,
presented by The Playhouse Company.
Set in the African bush, Fudukazi’s Magic features three
singer-actors (Mhlophe alongside Khwezi Becker and Nkosingiphile Mpanza) and
two musicians (Victor Sithole and Njabulo Shabalala). They tell the tale of a
female tortoise which, while interacting with other creatures of the bush, uses
magic to transform duller looking animals by adding a rainbow of colours to
their coats.
Gcina Mhlophe is an author, poet,
playwright, director and performer whose storytelling talent stems from being
influenced as a child by her grandmother’s tales.
Mhlophe’s written and performance talent
has taken her from South Africa to South and North America, to Europe,
Greenland and Japan. She has performed in some of the world’s most famous
theatres, including the Royal Albert Hall in London and at the Kennedy Centre
in America.
She has received honorary doctorates from
the London Open University (UK), the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pretoria
University and Fort Hare – all for a fine body of work that has contributed to
literature and helped to preserve the art of African storytelling.
Performances of Fudukazi’s Magic are scheduled for 10am daily from Tuesday to
Friday, November 26 to 30; as well as at 2pm on Saturday, November 30; and
thereafter at 2pm daily from Tuesday to Saturday, December 3 to 7.
Tickets for the show cost R50 each if
bought in advance and R65 at the door. Book at the Playhouse box-office – phone
031 369 9596/40 – or online and at Pick N pay outlets via WebTickets (the
customer support line is 086 111 0005).
A
CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE STORY OF SCROOGE
(December 6 to 8 at the Playhouse Opera
theatre)
Presented in partnership with the Cape Town
City Ballet, this fun and enchanting ballet for all ages has been created by
South African dance doyenne Veronica Paeper and features lighting design by
Wilhelm Disbergen.
The sparkling production, featuring 40
dancers, tells the story of the elderly, mean and misery Ebenezer Scrooge, who
gets opportunities to reassess the error of his ways and become a kinder and
more gentle man after he is visited by ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and
Future one cold Christmas Eve.
A
Christmas Carol: The Story of Scrooge is one of
more than 40 ballets, among them 16 full-length works, that have been
choreographed by Paeper, who was born in Port Shepstone and began
choreographing in 1972
Performances are at 7.30pm on Friday and
Saturday, December 6 and 7; and 3pm on Sunday, December 8.
Tickets for A Christmas Carol: The Story of Scrooge cost R150, R180 and R220.
They can be bought at the Playhouse box-office – phone (031) 3699 596/40 – or
online and at Pick N pay outlets via WebTickets (the customer support line is
086 111 0005).
BIGLY
YUGE
(December 6 to 15 in the Playhouse Loft)
Presented by The Playhouse Company in
association with Moving Acts Productions, this is a new musical comedy-drama by
award-winning playwright Clinton Marius, marking his 25th script. It is
directed by Tony Kgoroge, who appeared in the Clint Eastwood film, Invictus, and played Walter Sisulu in
the 2013 movie, Mandela: Long Walk to
Freedom.
(Left: Playwright Clinton Marius has written a new
comedy-drama with music, Bigly Yuge,
for the Playhouse Company's festive season programme.)
A showcase for the talents of popular
Durban TV and stage actors Bongani Mbatha, Bhekani Tshabalala and Mduduzi
Nombela, it tells of three hefty friends who battle to maintain relationships.
They embark on a dieting regime to please their loved ones and, in the process,
learn more about themselves and their lack of self-worth.
Featuring several songs and some dancing,
the production takes a humorous approach to its subject matter while still
highlighting the pain of people who battle the bulge, explains Marius, whose
successes include Lotus FM’s Lollipop
Lane serial and the stage hits Sweetie
Darling (starring Bongani Mbatha), B!#ch
Stole My Doek and White Christmas.
“The show is aimed at audiences who enjoy
uncomplicated and down-to-earth comedy. It will appeal to fans of the three
awesome and much-loved performers, and also to people who struggle with weight
and confidence issues,” says Marius.
Performances of Bigly Yuge are at 7pm on December 6; 2pm and 7pm on December 7; 3pm
on December 8; 7pm on December 11, 12 and 13; 2pm and 7pm on December 14; and
3pm on December 15.
Tickets for the show cost R100 each. They
can be bought at the Playhouse box-office – phone (031) 3699 596/40 – or online
and at Pick N pay outlets via WebTickets (the customer support line is 086 111
0005).
JOKER
IS QUEEN
(December 13 and 14 at the Playhouse Drama
theatre)
A bulging bagful of ho-ho-ho is planned for
Durban’s Playhouse complex this festive season with this zany, sketch-based
comedy show that turns the spotlight on the diverse talents of two of the
country’s most popular comics and stars of stage, film and television.
Leeanda Reddy (Isidingo, 3 Days to Go, Scandal, Mr Bones 2) and Kaseran Pillay (Going Nowhere Slowly, Mr Bones 2,
Binnelanders) present 10 hilarious, unrelated sketches featuring 24
colourful and diverse characters in Joker
is Queen.
The fast-flowing production is a collection
of highlights from previous sketch-based stage successes from the team – shows
including Buckled, Queens of Comedy, Old
School, Glued and 150 Years and Still Laughing.
It is comedy at its best, with the
characters – all depicted with lightning-fast changes of costumes, wigs and
accents – including a concerned nurse, a frustrated teacher, an old-school
principal, a sycophantic news reporter, early Indian settlers and assorted
know-it-alls, oddballs and misfits.
There are references to the Guptas and
KwaZulu-Natal’s traditional Reed Dance festival, and the audience can also look
forward to mirth being milked from a funeral, advice on plastic containers and
a variation of the vuvuzela.
Reddy’s popular character, the drunken
loser and wannabe-philosopher Uncle Eric, is also in the show; along with
Pillay’s hilarious, bumbling sign-language interpreter. Also keep an eye out
for the highly amusing Tamil Man, who gives handy hints on budget weddings to
Queen Elizabeth.
Performances of Joker is Queen are at 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday, December 13
and 14.
Tickets for this show cost R150 and R180.
They can be bought at the Playhouse box-office – phone (031) 3699 596/40 – or
online and at Pick N pay outlets via WebTickets (the customer support line is
086 111 0005).
HORN
HANG UP JAZZ CONCERT
(December 20 at the Playhouse Drama)
If jazz is your bag then you simply cannot
miss this concert spectacle celebrating the legacy of two great South African
artists who started their impressive careers in the mid-1950s and remain
relevant and popular today.
The musicians, both of whom are now 86, are
tenor saxophonist Moses Sefatsa and vocalist Adolph Kunene, who teamed with
Umkhumbane Jazz Ensemble about two decades ago and have produced some brilliant
compositions.
(Left: Durban
songbird Natalie Rungan features in “A Christmas Celebration”)
This year both Kunene and Sefatsa opted to
retire from music but both will feature in the Playhouse’s celebratory concert
arranged in their honour. It is an event that will also feature Umkhumbane Jazz
Ensemble, a vibrant group with two tenor and two alto saxophonists, two
trumpeters, a bassist, drummer and keyboardist. Their catchy music is in the
marabi-meets-big band style.
Also on the bill are Durban jazz songbird
Natalie Rungan; singer-guitarist Ernie Smith;
recording artist and music teacher Mthobisi Mthalane;
multi-instrumentalist Victor Sithole; singer and recording artist Xolisa
Dlamini; and jazz guitarist and pennywhistle expert Elias Ngidi. Mandla
Mdletshe is programme director.
The performance is at 7pm on Friday,
December 20.
Tickets for this treat cost R100 and R125.
They can be bought at the Playhouse box-office – phone (031) 3699 596/40 – or
online and at Pick N pay outlets via WebTickets (the customer support line is
086 111 0005).
A
CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
(December 21 and 22 at the Playhouse Opera
theatre)
This glittering spectacle is a
not-to-be-missed concert of exhilarating song and dance, as well as choral and
orchestral music. It is simply perfect for Christmas cheer and bringing the
curtain down on 2019.
Featuring the acclaimed KZN Philharmonic
Orchestra under the baton of Lykele Temmingh, as well as The Playhouse
Company’s Phakama Dance Theatre and the Playhouse Chorale, the show is directed
by Ralph Lawson.
The production promises to uplift spirits
and ensure a joyous start to the Christmas season with guest vocalists
including Shelley McLean, Aubrey Poo, Wayne Mkhize and Joel Zuma.
(Right: Joel
Zuma is among the cast of “A Christmas Celebration”)
Performances are at 7.30pm on Saturday,
December 21; and 2pm on Sunday, December 22; at the Playhouse Opera theatre.
Tickets for A Christmas Celebration cost R120 and R150. They can be bought at
the Playhouse box-office – phone (031) 3699 596/40 – or online and at Pick N pay
outlets via WebTickets (the customer support line is 086 111 0005).
OKWETHU
COMMUNITY ARTS FESTIVAL
(Uvongo Town Hall on December 6; Kokstad
Youth Centre on December 7)
This popular outreach initiative by The
Playhouse Company offers a mixed bag of free entertainment by upcoming local
talent.
The Playhouse Company is committed to
tapping new talent and exposing young artists to training and mentorship
through the many development programmes offered by the arts body. The aim is to
empower this new talent to perform on Playhouse stages.
The skills impartment initiative, besides
fast-tracking the growth of community artists in their ability to work
professionally, is seen as an invaluable and far-sighted extension of the
Playhouse Company’s own Audience Development programme.
SUNDOWNER
CONCERTS
(Playhouse Cellar on dates listed below)
The Playhouse Company’s popular free
Sundowner Concerts in the Playhouse Cellar are sure to prove a popular draw
over the festive season. All performances start at 5.30pm. This is the
programme:
November 1: The bands Afrosoul and
Thobani’s Band, as well as poets Nhlakanipho Nguse, Athingahangwi Ramabulana,
Sithabiso Nzala and Khwezi Becker.
November 6: Amanda Mo and Nhlanhla Sibisi,
as well as poets to be confirmed.
December 13: Vusi Mkhize and Njabulo Nzuza,
as well as poets to be confirmed.
December 20: Dani Foster Trio and Cebo
Ngema Band, as well as poets to be confirmed.
Billy Suter
Sosuterbill.com
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