Master Manipulator

Master Manipulator

If you can’t detect a master manipulator you are in a deep pit. Cause the boss is the one who screams out to the whole world that he’s in charge, right? Please. Let’s fight, let’s beef, cause I ain’t gonna take your bullshit, master manipulator, trying to direct my reality like you’re Speilberg. What is this Jurassic Park? You ain’t get the part, not even an extra nor a minor, your efforts to dictate this picture are infantile like a minor, throwing tantrums and causing scenes cause deep down you’re just a minor. Maybe you need a little reminder, on who’s running this show. Lines blurred out cause they were written on the snow? Playing the victim and the emotional blackmail, what am I slow? Guilt tripping and love bombing to enhance the flow. Come on, that’s a no. I see you even when you Ghosting like Casper, I am a Ghost Buster. Gaslighting won’t give you lustre, you could never be my master, cause you a copy-head, copying and pasting your projections on anyone you don’t want to get ahead. Master manipulator, controlling all the cards, using fake moralization to control the nation, then separate your target, that’s called isolation. Master manipulator, let’s beef, let’s fight, I can’t stand your mere sight. Your mannerisms offend me and your chunks are hard to bite. I’d like to spit on your face for mere spite. You’re a liar, you lack empathy and nothing you do is ever right. Master manipulator, serial gaslighter, puppet master like Gepetto, triangulating the situation so you can remain on top, going over the limit and never having the decency to stop, please cut off the strings so I can be a real boy like Pinocchio.

Dr. Strangelove

Dr. Strangelove

At Ster-Kinekor Theatres in Rosebank Nouveau to watch “Dr. Strangelove”, live theatre straight from the UK, on the big screen. I’ve got my popcorn and Creme Soda, a Production by National Theatre.

A fantastic show, laughing out loud all the way through. Amazing performers, great script. Steve Coogan plays four characters, I’ve never seen anything like that before, like an illusion, like you watching TV, but it’s not, it’s live theatre, on the big screen. He is amazing in all four roles, so sharp witted, edgy, dark and humorous. My favorite character was Dr. Strangelove, the wheelchair-bound, ex-Nazi scientist with an uncontrollable arm. His arm was so inappropriate and he explained himself far too many times. Humor is so mischievous.

A Stanley Kubrick classic, co-adapted by Armando Iannucci and Sean Foley. It is a dark satire about the Cold War and the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The story begins when a mentally unstable U.S. Air Force general unilaterally launches a nuclear attack on the USSR. As the U.S. government scrambles to prevent global annihilation, absurdity and bureaucracy collide in spectacular fashion. Peace on earth prevails.

Steven Coogan plays four characters – Dr. Strangelove, Captain Mandrake, President Muffley and Major TJ Kong

Giles Terera is General Turgidson
John Hopkins is General Ripper
Oliver Alvin Wilson is Jeffson

Set and Costume Designer – Hildegard Bechtler

2 hours 10 minutes with 15 minutes interval

Congratulations Sean Foley and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

đź“·: Manuel Harlan

Dancing the death drill

Dancing the death drill

At the Joburg Theatre for the opening of “Dancing the death drill”, packed house, energy palpable, euphoric. So much excitement, there were even soldiers in uniform. My all time favorite performer stars in it, Sharon Spiegel-Wagner. A truly beautiful woman. She speaks French in this one, I rest my case.

What a wonderful theatrical production. I was ecstatic to see Thuli Thabethe, she used to star in a sitcom I used to love “City Sesla”. She played Phumzile, I used to have the biggest crush on Phumi. She plays Matshidiso in this one, the mother of the lead, Pitso Motaung. Her biggest contribution to her son is “don’t be a desserter like your father”. Pitso is a mixed breed, his father is white and his mother black but he identifies as a black Sesotho man. The play is in English but contains dialogue in Sesotho for realism. Clint Brink is a revelation, he speaks Sesotho so well. He plays a character who is accused of a double murder, he is in chains and he is interrogated.

The play has three narrators and they take turns telling the story. They use language that is descriptive and evokes imagery. The monologues are passionate and full of life and personality.  iComplete are the band and they are simply irresistible throughout, the singing and backup is amazing. The violinist, Nakedi “Ace” Phenyo is mezmarrizing, he is in the background for most of the show and is not seen but heard. Towards the end, he comes on in the middle of the stage with the other performers while playing his violin, everyone has eyes on him, he is spellbinding, he had the audience standing up and applauding. However, It was the Luthando Arts Academy who stole the show. They dance with cohesion, chemistry and conviction. In sync, perfect choreography, they make full use of the huge Joburg Theatre stage to perfection, they are outstanding!

The play is based on the sinking of the SS Mendi in 1917, a British troopship carrying over 800 South African men. The ship sank in the English Channel after a collision, resulting in the deaths of over 600 men, many of them Black South Africans. Writer Fred Khumalo reimagines this tragedy through the eyes of Pitso Motaung, a fictional character who rises from a humble background in South Africa to become a soldier. The story is adapted for the stage by Palesa Mazamisa and James Ngcobo. The set is the SS Mendi, we are on a boat and Charlie Bougenon’s character Portsmouth is the captain. I cracked up when he instructed one of his men to lick off his spit on the ground and he did, talk about running a tight ship.

This is a wonderful production with a lot of enthusiasm. The lighting is awesome and the acting, singing, dancing and overall storytelling is just world-class.

Congratulations James Ngcobo and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

đź“·: SamSays

Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is calling my name again,
I don’t believe in coincidences,
it’s synchronicities,
I read Jung.

Everything is deliberate,
nothing happens by chance,
the Universe speaks in codes.
So I am listening.

Cape Town is calling my name again,
it’s personal,
it knows my first name,
it wants to know if I am game.

Started off as whispers,
I didn’t think much of it,
but then started taking my best friends,
first Stumza,
then Phimza,
all in the same month.

Cape Town is in my head again,
it happened for the first time,
then a second time,
the third time is an omen.

The Universe has a secret language,
you just have to learn to decode it.

Cape Town is calling my name again,
angel numbers are everywhere,
things are progressing beautifully,
my energy is connected to the pulse that moves life,
life is good.

Cape Town is calling my name again,
wants to know if I am ready for the shift,
to reply quick and make it swift.

Sure Cape Town,
I am game.

I don’t believe in coincidences,
it’s synchronicities,
I read Jung.

antakalipa – Cape Town

Joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat

Joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat

At Pieter Toerien to watch “Joseph and the amazing technicolor Dreamcoat”, LAMTA, Spring Awakening, that type of vibe. An outstanding show, vibrant energy, youthful, defined bodies, six packs, wonderful lighting, a set that illuminates, Egypt, the eye of horus, fantastic choreographed movement and dance and the best singing in the world. It’s an experience, the sound coops you in, high tempo, faster revolutions.

A musical by Andrew Lloydwebber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics). The story follows Joseph, the favorite of Jacob’s 12 sons, who is given a magnificent multicolored coat. His jealous brothers sell him into slavery, and Joseph ends up in Egypt. Despite many hardships, including being falsely imprisoned, Joseph rises to power by interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams. Eventually, he is reunited with his family and forgives his brothers. No dialogue, it’s sung throughout. I took a picture with Joseph. A big credit to Duane Alexander and Jared Schaedler, the choreography is just awesome. The performers on the stage are incredible. They are lively and expressive, their bodies express liberation. They are free and happy. They do a lot, they become props, they carry and throw each other in the air, they run, they jump, they dance, the sing. The costumes are grand and the lighting moves the story. It’s an experience, you are in, you are in and what a journey it is.

Some of the songs performed are Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door, Go, go Joseph, One more Angel in Heaven and Song of the King.

Congratulations Anton Luitingh and Duane Alexander for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

đź“·: SamSays

The Frog Prince

The Frog Prince

At the Peoples Theatre, Joburg Theatre to watch The Frog Prince and other fantastic stories. A wonderful show for the kids with color, imagination, energy, funny gags, sing alongs, morality, fantastic costumes and plenty of participation from the audience. We were very helpful. It wasn’t just the Frog Prince, we had other great stories like: 3 Wishes, a story of a grant wishing flounder with a lifelong lesson about promises “you have to keep your promises”. There was Hansel and Gretel, The brave little tailor, The soup stone, The emperors new clothes and The brave little rooster. There was also a story about goats.

The performers also performed Happy, uptown funk, I’ve got the feeling and Waka Waka, encouraging and teaching the audience dance moves for participating. Perfect choreographed movement and dance.

It is fun and interactive, a lot of smiles and laughter. Children helped and donned costumes, so cute, they were flies, bees, kings guards and a whole lot more. Laughter and happiness reigned. Everyone participated.

Morals like “You have to keep your promise” and basically power; from a small cottage, to a castle to being the king to being the lord of the universe and don’t take things that don’t belong to you provide life lessons.

The wonderful performers are:
Luciano Zuppa
Thokozani TK Jiyane
Raymond Skinner
Noluthando Matebula

1 and a half hours with 10 minutes interval.

Congratulations Jill Girard and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing.

WANDA

Wanda

Hola Wanda, it’s the great antakalipa. I have a business proposition for you. I need Investors for my production company that specializes in content. In addition you would come in as a partner. I have content, I have the know how, I have enthusiasm and the business acumen. It’s small things that are a hindrance. For example, I have a blog “antakalipa.wordpress.com” and I have been releasing content everyday for more than 300 consecutive days, it’s gaining traction and followers but the traction is limited because the website is free and certain features are blocked, I can’t afford a domain name for the blog. That’s a hindrance for the potential growth of the blog because it just doesn’t look professional and the brand suffers. The big thing is to grow the brand but it’s difficult without the adequate infrastructure and resources. I want to serve millions of people around the world with great content. In the future I plan to branch into making movies, music, books, podcasts, animation – just anything and everything with a creative expression. But for now I just want to make the content that I have now come alive visually and sonically, the content must come alive and the brand must grow so I can establish distribution systems that will be enable me to serve. My dream is to create a hub for creatives, I can do it and I will. Depending on the resources at my disposal, it might take a while to turn a profit but when we do it’s going to be forever because we can recycle the content and repackage it without incurring costs for production. We just have to grow the brand, it’s going to take some effort but it will be worth it in the end. Is this something that piques your interest? Are you interested?

Godspell

Godspell

At the Wits Theatre to watch the Student Production of the Year, “Godspell”. So glad it was not preachy, you can’t be too sure when Jesus is the main character. He is a good, chilled guy in this production, he even has on his “Superman” shirt. He preaches compassion, joy and faith.

A musical conceived by John Micheal Tebelak with music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Godspell presents a series of parables, mostly drawn from the Gospel of Matthew, told through a framework of theatrical games, storytelling, and music. Jesus gathers a group of followers and teaches them lessons of love, humility, and service. The story culminates in a poignant reenactment of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion.

The set is simple, wide stage and a fence at the back. Behind the fence above is a big cross made of wood pallets, on either side of the big cross are small crosses also made of wood pallets. The set reinforces the Christian theme.

Yahto Kraft plays Jesus with Grant Towers as Judas. The followers of Jesus are the Oakfields College Musical Theatre and Dance Students from the first year to the final year. They all give their best, they are boundless energy, they are expressive and highly animated. They light-up, performing different dance styles. Wonderful team chemistry and choreographed movement. Costumes are colorful and bright with waterpaints on their faces. Everyone tells the story, everyone is involved in the story, everyone has a line, everyone has a role even if you are an echo backing up what the previous performer just uttered, often times they dramatized it to comedic effect. The singing and lighting are just irresistible. Some of the songs performed are; Day by day, Prepare Ye (The way of the Lord), All for the best, By my side, We beseech thee and other classics.

It’s the Naledi Award winning “Student Production of the Year” for a reason. They perform their hearts out, with precision, care and love for their craft.

Congratulations Tracey Human and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

đź“·: SamSays

Maestro

Maestro

Will never understand how Bradley Cooper never got an Oscar for this film. What did he do wrong? Did he campaign too much? Was desperation reeking from his pores that it turned people off? Did he want that Oscar too much? I can’t find fault with this film, it’s a masterpiece. Bradley Cooper was excellent, he was on the form of his life, he was amazing, so talented. He did everything right with this film. The story and writing is perfect down to the beats, scenes and sequences. The tone and pacing is perfect, chronicles Leonard Bernstein’s life beautifully, the movie runs in black and white for sometime to convey and evoke that nostalgic feeling and then switches to color to indicate that time has elapsed. The artistic decisions were spot on. The acting superb. He wrote, directed and produced it. If that’s not enough, he enlisted help from Martin Scorsese and Steven Speilberg. I understand the decision to hand Oppenheimer some awards, it was a great movie and Christopher Nolan and his team deserve all the acclaim. But really? Not even one award for Bradley Cooper? Just a clean sweep for Oppenheimer? That’s not a fair representation of the year and the work that was done. 2023 was a great year for movies. Killers of the Flower Moon also didn’t win. I think it’s obsurd. Nominations are simply not enough, Cooper did everything right. Maestro is perfect. How could the Academy not even give him one award? If he doesn’t win with Maestro, what will he win with? How do you even win an Oscar? It seems impossible and untenable to me. Must be political. I am scratching my head, I just don’t understand. Nonetheless, I loved it, gets my stamp of approval and Bradley Cooper is a winner in my eyes. If he lost because he wanted it so bad then okay.

The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest

Day 4, an extended birthday run, at Ster-Kinekor Rosebank to watch “The Importance of Being Earnest”.

One of my favorite superhero movies of all time is Spider-Man 2. In the movie, Peter Parker’s love interest, Mary-Jane Watson stars in a Broadway play called “The Importance of Being Earnest”. I was always curious, always wanted to see this Oscar Wilde classic. A full circle moment, today I got to watch it on the big screen with Popcorn, Cream Soda with ice and crisp sound. Live theatre production straight from the UK, a production by National Theatre. Watching theatre on the big screen is so refreshing, there’s even an interval, the cinema is in my life again, Janet de Kretser is my new best friend.

Oscar Wilde is undoubtedly one of the greatest playwrights of all time. The writing on “The Importance of Being Earnest” is truly phenomenal, with wit, sarcasm, humor, irony, perfect pacing and beat by beat conversations that make dialogue naturalistic.

The play follows two young gentlemen, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who use fake identities to escape social obligations and pursue romantic interests. Jack Worthing lives in the country but pretends to be “Earnest” in the city to enjoy a more carefree life. He wishes to marry Gwendolen Fairfax, who loves him mainly because she believes his name is Earnest. Algernon Moncrieff, Jack’s friend, visits Jack’s country estate using a made-up identity—posing as Jack’s fictitious brother “Earnest”—and falls in love with Cecily Cardew, Jack’s young ward. Chaos and humor ensue as identities are mistaken, secret pasts are revealed, and everyone ends up questioning who anyone really is. Sets change multiple times in the show, it’s a theatrical production, drop the curtain and when you pull it up again, everything has changed.

Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo is Gwendolen Fax

Julian Bleach is Merriman
Sharon D Cant is Lady Bracknell
Ncuti Gatwa is Algernon Moncrieff
Hugh Skinner is Jack Worthing
Eliza Scanlen is Cecily

2 hours and 50 minutes with 15 minutes interval.

Set and Costume by Rae Smith

Congratulations Max Webster and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing.

đź“·: Marc Brenner