GUY BUTTERY FOR DARGLE

 

(Above: Guy Buttery, courtesy of Quicket)

 

A historic first: Guy Buttery brings live music to St. Andrew's Church, Dargle — for the first time in 142 years.

World-renowned guitarist Guy Buttery will make history on the May 23, 2026, as he performs the first ever concert at St. Andrew's Church in the Dargle Valley, a landmark occasion for both the local community and South African cultural life.

Consecrated on November 30, 1883, by Bishop Macrorie, the modest stone church was erected through the collective efforts of the surrounding farming community and has stood quietly in the foothills of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands ever since. In all that time, as best as research can determine, no formal concert has ever taken place within its walls. Until now.

Guy Buttery, Standard Bank Young Artist Award recipient, multiple SAMA winner, and one of South Africa's most celebrated acoustic guitarists will perform alongside special guest Quintin Song, a versatile multi-instrumentalist of rare and distinctive voice. Together they will bring an afternoon of intimate, world-class music to one of the Midlands' most historic sacred spaces.

The concert promises to be a truly singular occasion, the ancient timbers and corrugated iron walls of St. Andrew's offering an acoustic and atmospheric setting unlike any conventional venue. With the Dargle Valley as its backdrop and 142 years of quiet history as its witness, the church will hear music for the very first time.

Seating is strictly limited and booking is essential. Find the ticket link here. https://www.quicket.co.za/events/373941-guy-buttery-the-dargle-church-sessions-23-may/#/

 

Details:

-Date – Saturday, May 23 2026

-Venue – St Andrew’s Church, Dargle

-Address – The "Dargle Church", Dargle Valley, KZN Midlands (14 km along the Dargle Road from the R103)

-Time – 15h30 to start shortly after

-Price – R200

-Contact – Gilly - 083 271 7338 / mwjambo@mweb.co.za

-Tickets –15h30

 

 

 

 

MARIA CALLAS - PRIMA DONNA - A BALLET BY MARIO GAGLIONE

 

(Pic courtesy of Webtickets)

“Maria Callas has long been a source of fascination and inspiration for me. Her unwavering commitment to music and theatre through a turbulent life, speaks of a resilience I deeply admire”, says Mario Gaglione.

A senior soloist and Associate choreographer with Joburg Ballet, Gaglione, over the last few years, has emerged as a significant choreographic voice in the South African dance landscape.

His ballet Maria Callas – Prima Donna, a self-funded ‘passion project’ independent from Joburg Ballet, which premiered last year at the Lesedi, Joburg Theatre and was performed again in January in Cape Town by invitation of the UCT Summer School as their closing show, was warmly received by audiences in both cities.

The ballet is now heading to The Milkwood Theatre, Danville Park Girls' High School, Virginia, Durban North, Durban. Three performances are scheduled for Saturday 23 May at 18h30 and on Sunday 24 May at 14h00 and 17h00.

Divine, enchanting and tragically human, Maria Callas remains one of the most captivating figures in opera history. This ballet brings her extraordinary life to the stage, it weaves together the passion of her artistry, the turbulence of her personal journey and the relentless pursuit of perfection that defined her.

The role of Maria Callas is performed by Joburg Ballet’s principal dancer, Monike Cristina who won the 2026 Naledi Award for ‘Best Performance in a Dance, Physical Theatre or Ballet Production’ for her portrayal of Maria Callas in this work. Cristina, together with four other Joburg Ballet dancers - principal dancers Revil Yon and Ivan Domiciano and soloists Chloé Blair and Gabriella Ghiaroni, brings Gaglione’s intimate ballet on the life of Maria Callas to life.

The ballet invites audiences to step closer to the mystery of Maria Callas, from soaring triumphs to devastating heartbreaks to meet the legend, the woman behind the voice. It blends the physical poetry of dance with rare video interviews with Callas herself, it highlights arias such as Casta Diva and Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix and also uses operatic excerpts from La Traviata and Carmen, while the costumes have been sourced from rare vintage collections.

 

Venue: The Milkwood Theatre, Danville Park Girls' High School, Virginia, Durban North, KZN

Date/times: Saturday May 23 at 18h30 |  Sunday May 24 at 14h00 & 17h00

Ticket price: R250

Bookings: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1593624566

FUNK 2026

 

(2025 Finale entitled 'The Never-Ending Encore'. Photo Credit: Paul Henman)

 

St Anne's Diocesan College presents FUNK 2026 featuring Drakondale, GHS, Epworth, Howick, St Anne’s, St John’s, St Nicholas, Michaelhouse, Riverwood and TWC

The show will take place from May 15 to 20 at The St Anne’s Theatre at 19h00

R80 (All tickets)

Booking on www.quicket.co.za

 

In its 27th year, Funk continues to generate tremendous excitement and is a firm favourite on the annual school production calendar!

Funk evolved as an idea to create a dance programme for schools with very specific aims. Firstly to unite schools in working towards a common goal; secondly to give Drama students and their teachers the opportunity to create and rehearse pieces of dance theatre for public performance; thirdly, to enable young people to see that movement, dance and dance theatre is accessible to them and not only in the hands of professional adult companies; and finally, and perhaps most importantly of all, to generate meaning and artistic integrity through dance choreography whilst challenging young people to work outside of their comfort zones.

The task for each school remains constant: to create a 6-minute piece of dance choreography integrating any type of musical or textual accompaniment. The programme accommodates a range of choreographic and performance possibilities and provides the perfect opportunity for schools to experiment with new forms. It is also important to emphasise that this platform is not a competition and should not be seen in the same light as a sports festival or inter-house competition. The highlight of the production is always the mass group Finale, which incorporates all the schools together on the stage.

Funk 2026 is produced by The Theatre-St Anne’s Diocesan College, directed by Lynn Chemaly, with technical direction by Tebogo Makitla and Finale creation by Joslyn Anderson.

 

HELLO YOUR FUTURE CALLS

 

Join The Westville Theatre Club for an epic time-bending journey where true love, life and death, and chance encounters hand in the balance.

The cast features hilarious characters with music filled with popular hits by ABBA, Queen, Phil Collins and more.

The original script is written and directed by Maya Olsen. Musical direction is by Shawn O’Neill with choreography by Dorothy O’Neill.

The show runs at the Westville Theatre Club from May 21 to 24 and again from May 28 to 31. Evening shows at 18h30 for 19h00 and Sunday at 14h00.

Tickets R120 (R100 students, pensioners and members). Bring your own food and drinks.

Bookings through Dorothy on 083 776 1754 or email dorothyannoneill@gmail.com

THE WOMAN AND HER STARS: REVIEW

 

Haw has done an excellent job of creating the events that allowed Caroline to blossom and become the person who appears in the history of astronomy. (Review by Margaret von Klemperer, courtesy of The Witness)

 

Once again, following other novels such as The Woman at the Wheel and The Invincible Miss Cust, Penny Haw has taken a female figure marginalised by history and given us a fictionalised account of her life.

I have always found fictionalised biography (so-called “faction”) a potentially difficult area – it can raise too many questions about how much of their own stamp an author can or should place on a real character – but here, in this tale of astronomer Caroline Herschel, Haw offers us a compelling and very plausible narrative.

Born in Germany in 1750, Caroline was scarred and stunted by illness in childhood, and her mother decided there was no point in educating her, or preparing her for an advantageous marriage, and turned her into the family drudge. Yet she would go on to become the first woman scientist in Britain to be paid a salary and be recognized by scientific bodies for her contribution.

Her charismatic and talented brother William rescued her by taking her to England, seeing to it that she received an education and encouraging her musical talent. But his own interests moved from music to astronomy, and Caroline became his assistant in making telescopes for sale and in mapping the stars. When he was offered a position as the King’s Astronomer, he uprooted her from the life she enjoyed in Bath and took her with him to Windsor.

It would never have occurred to Caroline that she could forge her own path and refuse. She was terrified that if she didn’t do as William wished, she might be sent back to her controlling and unpleasant mother in Germany. So she allowed herself to give up a life she enjoyed, and became her brother’s full-time assistant. And as she learned more, she nurtured a secret desire to become an astronomer in her own right, but women didn’t do such things, and her early life had robbed her of the self-confidence that could have made it possible.

Haw draws on Caroline’s own diaries and writings, but, as an author’s note explains, there is a major gap in these at the time of William’s marriage, relatively late in his life. This allows Haw the space to create Caroline as a realistic, flawed and fascinating character, who could be – and often was – her own worst enemy, her lack of confidence holding her back at every turn. But Haw has done an excellent job of creating the events that allowed Caroline to blossom and become the person who appears in the history of astronomy.

The novel ends at this point, but of course Caroline would march on. There are various heavenly bodies that bear her name – and the Herschel name also lives on in South Africa where Herschel School in Cape Town is named after her nephew – William’s son and also an astronomer – who came to the Cape to map the stars of the Southern hemisphere.

The Woman and Her Stars gives Caroline a voice and shows with impressive clarity that women in the 18th Century – the so-called Age of Enlightenment – had to overcome enormous obstacles to gain the recognition they deserved. And Caroline Herschel really does deserve it.

Penny Haw’s The Woman and Her Stars is published by Sourcebooks: ISBN 13:978-1-7282-9548-0

MiTH MAY 20 LINE-UP

 

(Above: The Chickpeas. Pic supplied)

 

Warm up your May with more outstanding live music at MiTH – the Midlands’ beloved Music in The Hills. For just R50, you get access to the perfect blend of great music, and there’s good food, familiar faces, and drinks on sale. Every MiTH night is its own unique little treasure chest.

 *MiTH LINEUP 20 May 2026*

Venue: The Knoll Historic Guest Farm

Entrance: R50.00 (cash or Zapper at the door)

Info: 082 331 7271

Join the KZN Midlands Live Shows WhatsApp Group for updates on live shows across the Midlands: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GiBNhzJXO7M6WPP41rRiFu

 

20h50 – The Chickpeas

Fresh from a fabulous set on the River Stage at Splashy Fen - The Chickpeas didn’t materialise out of nowhere - they sprouted from the fertile musical soil of the Hairy-Legged Lentil Eaters. Having grown up around legendary local bands, toe-tapping setlists, and a community that thrives on music, their philosophy remains simple: honour the music, surprise the audience, and never miss an opportunity for a well-timed musical detour.

The Chickpeas have all been influenced by bands such as Incubus, Crowded House, and The Cranberries, and build their repertoire around rich, tightly-woven vocal harmonies and rhythm, reimagining well-loved favourites alongside original material.

The Chickpeas blend polished musicianship and spontaneous creativity, with a firm belief that every instrument deserves a solo. The result is a performance that feels warm and heartfelt, with just the right amount of silly. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584057434411

 

19h50 – Over The Edge

Over the Edge is a four-piece contemporary band, whose original music has diverse influences and blends pop, ska, reggae and light rock, often with some African flavour. Kevin Duke on guitar and vocals, Mark Misselhorn bass and vocals, Ashleigh McKenzie on keyboards and Greg Brooks on drums. All have a long history of involvement in various bands from KZN and Botswana. Over the Edge formed in 2021 and are based in Kloof, Durban.

 

19h00 – Charles Webster (and Guests)

Sometimes you just want to sing the songs you want to sing to an appreciative, listening audience. When that’s the case, MiTH is the place to do it, and in this case MiTH crew member Charles Webster will be bringing songs that give him the feels. He’ll be doing some of them solo, and for others he’ll be joined by some of the folks he loves performing with. Expect songs that’ll make you feel like you’re soaring, and others that’ll tug at your heartstrings. https://www.facebook.com/charleswebstermusic

 

ABOUT MiTH

Food and cash bar available on site. The KZN Midlands’ favourite live music venue, MiTH is a platform for beginners, professionals and music lovers to celebrate the joy of live performance. Hosted every second Wednesday at The Knoll Historic Guest Farm, Hilton.

 

Directions to MiTH

Take the N3 to Hilton. Turn into Hilton Village and drive 5.2 km along Hilton Avenue, which becomes Dennis Shepstone Drive. Look for Knoll Drive on your right – the entrance to MiTH is the second left into The Knoll Historic Guest Farm. Info: 082 331 7271, www.mith.co.za or mithbookings@gmail.com

ANDRIES BOTHA FOR ST CLEMENTS

(Andries Botha. Pic supplied) 

Join Pieter’s* friends at St Clements on June 1 at 18h00 for an evening with legendary and loved Durban-based sculptor, Andries “Boetie” Botha, who has been creating and exhibiting both within South African and internationally - while also teaching, mentoring, winning awards and using his art as a platform for activism - for more than 45 years.

Andries Botha, pre-eminent South Africa sculptor, artist, visionary, creative, crusader for the arts, environmental activist, caring person, mentor to many — and much, much more — is in the process of moving his art to the Magaliesberg. He has also been instrumental in relocating the Mary Stainbank collection to the Magaliesberg. And his Ian Player memorial sculpture, initially intended for KZN, has now found its home in the Magaliesberg.

Thank you to Chris Nicholson for the talk’s title… And (spoiler alert), there are many elephants in the room besides those Durbanites usually focus on. For one, it was w-a-y back that Botha founded his Human Elephant Foundation in a partnership with, among others, South Africa’s (late) acclaimed conservationist Dr Ian Player.

SO: Botha will share with us his reflections, thoughts and ideas about what he refers to as his “creative intervention in the Magaliesberg”.

“Of relevance is its provenance both geographically and anthropologically. It is the fifth-oldest mountain landscape in the world, older than the Himalayas. It lingers as a prehistoric jewelled necklace or umbilical cord, holding the cradle of humankind. The land is soaked in memory and legacy.

“Creating within this ambience redirects South African memory and cultural legacy into a profound universalism beyond the wrecking-ball political narratives of time-bound conflictual racial binaries that informs our current identity discourses.

“It reminds us that we hold the DNA codes of ‘First Time’. I will try to creatively navigate into this space and pay tribute to the flora, fauna and occasional humans who have illuminated our Southern African destinies despite our best efforts to frustrate and destroy this vulnerable and tenuous survival.”

Of course, there will be a lot about art. A little about elephants. And time for questions.

 

About:

Visit Andries Botha’s website at https://www.andriesbotha.net

Since 2008, one of Botha’s primary activities has been focused on building and affirming conservation resources and infrastructure within South Africa. “I have, and remain of the opinion that artists need to play and have more of a direct role and function in one of the most pressing concerns of our contemporary lives. They have an enormous contribution to play in what is referred to as ‘our planet in crisis’.”

When the donation box is passed around, generosity is requested and a minimum of R50 per person.

Weather permitting, the talk will be outdoors.

Bookings limited to diners in support of St Clements restaurant and staff.

Single folk are welcome to book for one person and join a table.

Table Bookings Essential: RSVP ST Clements +27 62 582 0980

Be there in time to open your tab, order at the counter and settle in before the scheduled 18h00 start. Please cancel if you book then can’t make it.

 

*A Pieter Scholtz (1937 — 2025) ‘Mondays at Six’ legacy soiree.

 

 

BAROQUE 2000 MAY CONCERT

 

(Right: Lynelle Kenned. Pic supplied)

 

The next Baroque 2000 concert will take place on Sunday May 31 at 11h30 at St James Church - Venice Road in Musgrave.

The concert will feature Lynelle Kenned, opera singer from Cape Town in operatic arias with flute obligato (Sabine Baird - flute).

 

Programme:

-Handel – Rinaldo Overture

-Arias for Soprano:

-Handel – “Sweet Bird”

-Antonia Padoani Bembo - "O del Celtico scettro"

-Vivaldi – “Sol da te, mio dolce amore”

-Charpentier - "Sans frayeur dans ce bois"

-Handel – Concerto Grosso Op6 No11 in A Major

 

Spiga d’Oro (famous Italian restaurant at 465 Innes Road – opposite Mitchell Park) is generously offering a R50 voucher (to be redeemed against a R250 spend) to each patron attending Baroque 2000 concerts. These vouchers will be handed out at the tickets selling desk at St James Church on the concert day.

Tickets at the door @ R200. Children enter free.

There is ample, free and secure parking in Sir Arthur & Venice adjacent roads

Contact: Michel. sursouth@iafrica.com 082 303 5241

 

PUSS IN BOOTS CAST FOR CAPE TOWN PRODUCTION

 

Let the magic in this winter!

This winter, as Cape Town settles into its quieter rhythms and school holidays begin, KickstArt Theatre returns to the Baxter with Steven Stead’s Puss in Boots, a lively pantomime for the whole family, running for a limited season from June 26 to July 18.

Following the success of last year’s Jack and the Beanstalk, the company continues to build a growing winter tradition at the Baxter with a production that invites audiences to step out of the cold and into a world of music, mischief, and shared laughter.

Puss in Boots is set on a magical Caribbean island and follows a quick-witted feline hero on a playful adventure filled with colourful characters, lively songs, and plenty of audience participation. The production is designed to delight younger audiences with slapstick and spectacle while offering humour and local references that adults can enjoy just as much.

Written and directed by Steven Stead and designed by Greg King, the show reunites most of the original strong Durban cast including Rory Booth as the booted hero, Belinda Henwood as the good fairy Calypso Honeybunch, and Bryan Hiles as the villainous Grimbsy Withergood.

They are joined by Kyran Brady Taylor, Blessing Xaba, Lyle Buxton, Roshanda Lewis, Mthokozisi Zulu, and Grace MacIlroy.

Stead says: “We are very proud of our family-oriented pantomimes, which are made with great love and much attention to detail. These have been delighting Durban audiences for two decades, and we know that they are the theatrical equivalent of a major sugar-rush, but when the Cape Town audience for our Jack and Beanstalk was so overwhelmingly positive, we knew that we had to bring Puss in Boots down this year. It is wild ride for an audience, with huge laughs, gorgeous visuals, and a totally original spin,”

With its blend of comedy, music, and theatrical flair, Puss in Boots offers Cape Town audiences a welcoming and accessible live theatre experience during the winter holidays.

“It was seeing pantomimes as a child that made me fall in love with the theatre at a young age,” says King. “And it’s an enormous pleasure to be able to spread that infectious joy, and love of live performance to new generations.”

This is will be the first time that Steven Stead’s Puss in Boots will be seen in Cape Town. It has previously been staged at the Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City, and twice in Durban since it was first premiered there in 2015.

Puss in Boots is an experience that brings people together.

It is easy to enjoy, packed full of heart and made to be remembered.

 

Show Information

Puss in Boots will be on stage at the Pam Golding Theatre at The Baxter, Cape Town, from June 26 – July 18.

The show runs Mondays – Saturdays:

Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays at 14h30

Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11h00 & 15h00

 

Tickets are R300 (R250 for children). Bookings are at Webtickets

For groups and school bookings, please contact Mark Dobson at mark.dobson@uct.ac.za

Puss in Boots runs for 2h15 including a 20-minute interval and carries an age restriction of no under 3’s.

 

Follow KickstArt Theatre online:

Website: https://www.kickstarttheatre.co.za

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickstarttheatre/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kickstarttheatre.co.za

BANTU’S CLEF

 

(Leon Scharnick  and Milton Chissano)

 

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music (CJPM) proudly presents Bantu’s Clef on Wednesday May 20, 2026, at 17h30.

Consisting of Milton Chissano (Guitar); Leon Scharnick (Alto and Tenor saxes); Doctor Vezi (Electric bass guitar); Albert Chemane (Drums); featuring Zoe the Seed (vocals), Bantu’s Clef’s music is characterized as instrumental World Music with strong influences of African rhythms from the Bantu people. It interlocks with various others musical influences such as African ethnic music, American jazz, Latin American music as well as aspirations from Baroque music and other genres of music.

Bantu’s Clef sound is presented in a language or aesthetic located within the expression of contemporary jazz. It includes interpretations of other composers from Mozambique, South Africa, Latin America and Bollywood music. Bantu’s Clef proposes a night of melo-rhythmic music that appeals for both dancing and listening with harmonic structures that travel from basic to complex, vesting the melodies with a lyrical aesthetic inspired in African chants in dialogue with the universe.

 

Like jazz, it also includes improvisation on the form, the musicians have the freedom to express what is in their souls.

 

Event details:

Bantu’s Clef

Wednesday May 20, 2026

Doors open at 17h00

Music at 17h30

Tickets R130 (R100 pensioners, R70 students R70) - cash at the door

 

UKZN, Howard College Campus. Dennis Shepstone Building level 2

Centre for Jazz and Popular Music

Use Gates 3 or 8 off Rick Turner Road

36 AFRICAN FILM PROJECTS SELECTED FOR 17TH DURBAN’S FILMMART

Thirty-six African film projects have been selected for the 17th Durban FilmMart Africa’s leading film finance and co-production market that will now take place from October 9 to 12, in Durban, South Africa.

The market will present an array of projects, including 8 animation, 10 fiction features, 10 documentary features and 7 series projects in development at the Pitch and Finance Forum alongside a robust industry programme which will focus on current trends, innovations, and challenges faced by the industry. 

 

Maalene Reddy, DFMI director, says: "Our stories are our voices; they represent our culture, our history, our joy, our pain and our victories. DFM is honoured to present a unique selection of African stories that will add to the successes that have gone before. We look forward to following the journey of these projects for years to come, as we do with all our project alumni. The DFM provides an important platform, not only to showcase the creative work of filmmakers but also to support them in building a cross continental community, creating networks and access.”

The 36 selected projects will be given the opportunity to prepare for their participation at DFM with online one-on-one mentorship by leading industry experts to ensure that they are collaborator- and investor-ready when they get to Durban for the in-person pitch.

The 8 animation projects will receive additional support from industry experts through participation in the Digital Lab Africa (DLA) programme presented by DFM partner, Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct.

 

ANIMATED SERIES

-Beast Seeker

-Producer: Danielle Retief

-Director: Robyn Viljoen

-South Africa

-capoZOOeira

 

-Producers: Mary Waweru Wanjiku, Carlos Zerpa Bravo

-Director: Orlymar Paredes

-Kenya, Brazil

 

Hadu: The Series

Producer: Damilola Solesi

Director: Precious Anih

Nigeria

 

JUJU SOCCER

Producers: Oge Obasi, Somto Ajuluchukwu 

Director: C.J. Obasi

Nigeria

 

Nerve

Producer: Raffaella Delle Donne

Coproducer: Renee Van Reenen

Director: Tshepo Moche

South Africa

 

Sunday Morning

Producer: Nahom Abiy

Director: Minasie Terefe

Ethiopia

 

ANIMATED SHORT

In Her Hands

Producer: Gehad El Akhal

Director: Hagar Basiony

Egypt

 

Animated Feature

Midnight Metro

Producer: Wako Sefara

Director: Lesego Vorster

South Africa

 

Fiction Features

A touch of Paradise

Producer: Sarra Ben Hassen

Director: Houcem Slouli

Tunisia

 

Arbaa Shuhour wu Ashara Ayam (Four Months and Ten Days)

Producer: Alsamoual Hussein

Director: Alyaa Musa

Sudan

 

Fairway to Freedom

Producer: Tarina Patel

Director: Jahmil Qubeka

South Africa

 

HOLY COW

(selected at El Gouna 2025 through partnership)

Producer and Director: Asmae el  Moudir

Morocco

 

MOTHER THERESA

Producer: Shema Faustin 

Director: Mutiganda wa Nkunda

Rwanda

 

MIETA

Producer: Neil Brandt

Director: Carla Fonseca Mokgata

South Africa

 

Taht El Sama El Khadra' (Under Green Skies)

Producer: Yara Goubran

Director: Jad Chahine

Egypt

 

The Boy Who Spoke Static

Producer: Mathew Cerf

Director: The Agbajowo Collective

Nigeria

 

Waslap

(Selected through the 2025 DFM ACCESS)

Producer and Director: Batandwa Alperstein

South Africa

 

Vino Amargo (Bitter Wine)

Producer: David Franciscus

Director: Pablo Pinedo Bóveda

South Africa

 

Fiction Series

 

AGAIN

Producer: Giresse Kassonga

Director: Erickey Bahati

Democratic Republic of the Congo

 

Daddies

Producer: Cati Weinek

Director: Sean Mongie

South Africa

 

Fafi

Producer and Director: Dominique Jossie

South Africa

 

FISI (HYENA)

Producer: Mkamzee Mwatela

Director: Sanele Zulu

Kenya

 

Smoke & Mirrors

Producer: Luke Rous

Director: Jozua Malherbe

South Africa

 

The Coven (selected through DFM ACCESS)

Producer and Director: Sihle Mthembu

South Africa

 

Documentary

 

Documentary Series

Children of the Nile

Producer and Director: Tina Obo

Uganda

 

Documentary Features

Banat aljaziea alkhadra' (GREEN ISLAND'S GIRLS)

Producer: Amrosh Badr

Director: Rogena Zeinelabdein

Egypt

 

DESIGNING DIVIDE (selected at Talents Durban 2025)

Producer and Director: Jessie Ayles 

South Africa

 

Gwijo Nation

Producer: Quinton Fredericks

Director: Sesihle Manzini

South Africa

 

LE FIL ET LE MUR (THE THREAD AND THE WALL)

Producer and Director: Mouni Boullam

Algeria, France

 

MA NUIT DU DJOMELE (My Djomele Night)

Producer: Hicham Falah

Director: Barkima Nafissatou Laguempedo 

Burkina Faso

 

Majuto si Mjukuu (Heirs of no Regret)

Producer: Mumo Liku

Director: Saitabao Kaiyare

Kenya

 

MDANTSANE – HOME OF BOXING (selected through DFM ACCESS)

Producer and Director: Phumlani Veto 

South Africa

 

The Ones With The Tempered Flowers

Producer: Ivy Kiru

Director: Neema Ngelime

Tanzania

 

Urban Zulu: The Busi Mhlongo Story

Producer: Struan Douglas, coproducer: Vusi Mchunu

Director: Rehad Desai

South Africa

 

Waiting for Evolution

Producer and director: Karin Slater

South Africa

 

WHERE DO I BELONG?

Producer: Talal Afifi

Director: Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmed

Sudan

 

More information on this year’s theme can be found on the Durban FilmMart Institute’s website.

Delegate registration and programme details will be announced in due course.

The 17th edition Durban FilmMart is funded by the Durban Film Office, eThekwini Municipality, Ford Foundation, the National Film and Video Foundation and IEFTF.

 

About Durban FilmMart Institute

Durban FilmMart Institute is the business hub of the African film industry in a world where African professionals and content are globally competitive and celebrated. The mission of the Durban FilmMart Institute is to provide appropriate and effective programmes and services to promote, support and facilitate investment in the African film industry. The Durban FilmMart Institute runs year-round developmental programmes and an annual market (Durban FilmMart). The DFMI is the custodian of Filmmart.africa which is an online tool for filmmakers to connect and which we hope will enhance visibility for African content.  

 

THE RETURN OF ELVIS DU PISANIE: REVIEW

 

(Left: Ashley Dowds)

Paul Slabolepszy is ever so brilliant at weaving a story that is rooted in place and time and is nimbly able to transcend its geography and era - to find a universal home (Review by Shannon Kenny)

The Return of Elvis Du Pisanie recently seen at the Seabrooke Theatre @DHS.

Paul Slabolepszy is ever so brilliant at weaving a story that is rooted in place and time and is nimbly able to transcend its geography and era - to find a universal home. And he does so hilariously, poignantly, unapologetically. Slabolepszy is a great South African storyteller and playwright. And The Return of Elvis Du Pisanie is a great South African play.

In this incarnation of the one-hander, Slabolepszy directs Ashley Dowds in the title role - one first performed to much acclaim, by the playwright in the early 1990s. This production stays true to its original staging: a solitary lamppost, a slightly-raised pavement, stenciled with Union Crescent, a pack of beers at the post’s base. Lighting design, in the skilled and artful hands of the eminent Michael Taylor-Broderick, perfectly complements the action and mood. Slabolepszy and Dowds achieve the layering and world-building of a story full of light and shade, to great effect.

Dowds’ Eddie is compelling, riveting. Eddie has recently lost his job in sales and his will to live. It is on Union Crescent - with his thoughts about living and dying; questions about his past, present and purpose - that we meet him looking slightly dishevelled in his dark suit, collared shirt, slip-on shoes. In a moment of crisis some moments before, he has reached for the radio and is catapulted by an Elvis song to a life-defining moment in his childhood, 30 years prior, at that very spot on Union Crescent, opposite The Carlton bioscope. Elvis sightings and dreams, music and lyrics, play no small part in Eddie’s life.

The audience journeys with Eddie and the characters who populate his world, through a childhood and adolescence marked with the magic of the movies; annoying relatives and eccentric neighbours; relocation from the Modderfontein to Witbank; the joy of music, infatuation, triumphs, disappointments and incalculable grief - the very many things that indelibly define and alter one’s life.

Dowds masterfully embodies each character in voice and movement - Young Eddie; Nigel; gauche Uncle Albert; Mum; Dad; Dick Tracy; Lydia Swanepoel; Oom Carel; ol’ Joseph from the Cape, Elvis competition MC - breathing life into them, inviting us to allow them and all their messiness, a seat in our consciousness. We are so invested in each character that of course we cannot help but be genuinely convulsed with laughter when Borisssss achieves what he is set out to do. And how could we not be convinced that Eddie’s Elvis is the clear winner with All Shook Up.

While never shy of nostalgia, the story bears nary a hint of triteness. Slabolepszy is a master at carrying South Africa’s complexity in his storytelling - a wicks bubblegum well past its chewed-by date; the curfew siren that equally terrifies, on opposite sides of the dam, the black mine workers and Mrs du Pisanie a post-war transplant to South Africa from the north of England; Mr Moosa of ‘the corner Greek;’ Oom Carel and Joseph’s relationship; Dad’s trauma response mirroring events in South Africa of the early 1990s. 

The Return of Elvis du Pisanie - a story of love and loss, of displacement and home; and healing - still mesmerises, delights and gut-punches its way well into the 21st century, with Ashley Dowds as Eddie “Elvis” Du Pisanie. Kudos! – Shannon Kenny