Consciousness of culture

Amy Winehouse: The Diva and Her Demons

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Amy Winehouse: The Diva and Her Demons

On the Square for the Amy Winehouse: The Diva and Her Demons show, I thought it was opening night. Melidah set things right. Tonight is the preview, opening night is on Friday. Finger too quick on the trigger, Friday is too far. I’ll watch the preview tonight and come back tomorrow for the opening!

I’ve been excited about the show ever since I heard it’s coming on the square. Amy Winehouse is my favorite artist of all time! Couldn’t see her live but tonight was the closest thing to a Amy Winehouse concert. Kerry Hiles was amazing on Judy Garland’s “A star is born” – Amanda Bothma duh but she really did it this time! That just might be the best tribute show of all time! Incredible show! Kerry simultaneously narrates Amy’s life, it’s informative, intimate and insightful, she talks Amy’s early days, her parents, Blake, smoking Marijuana, crack cocaine, alcoholism, Frank, fashion sense, winning 5 Grammy awards in one night, Tony Bennett, Back to Black and her ultimate demise. Songs off Frank, Back to Black and Lioness: Hidden Treasures were performed. I lost my mind when I heard “Cherry” – I didn’t expect that! I lost total control of my body when they performed “You’re Wondering Now” and “Monkey Man”.

Other songs performed were “Me and Mr. Jones”, “Addicted”, “Valerie”, “Love is a losing game”, “Rehab”, “Tears Dry on Their Own”, “Take the Box”, “Stronger Than Me”, “Our Day Will Come”, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and the posthumously Grammy award winning “Body and Soul” with Tony Bennett.

A perfect way to start off the new year! What are you waiting for? Go get your tickets now! They are only here for 10 days!

Kerry Hiles is on Vocals and the Bass.
Roscoe Nefdt plays the guitar.
Kristo Zondagh is on drums and suitcase – you’ll understand when you see the show.

The music is crispy fresh and reimagined. Kerry is mesmerizing on the vocals while Kristo lends his voice to the backup. I loved “Valerie”. It’s so cool they performed all the music that I loved. I couldn’t stop singing and dancing! What an experience! The theatre is going to have a hard time keeping me out – my spirit is screaming encore! I love Kerry Hiles even more now – she could never do wrong in my eyes.

Thank you Theatre on the square for bringing Amy Winehouse to me. My favorite artist of all time!

Congratulations Misery Loves Company for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

📸: SamSays

Pinocchio

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Pinocchio

At Joburg Theatre for the opening of Janice Honeyman’s Pinocchio. So much excitement – we got goodie bags filled with sweets and snacks! Pinocchio is one of my favorite fairytale’s of all time. I love the character of Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio’s conscience. We all need a moral campass to help us get through life.

The show doesn’t disappoint, colorful costumes and vibrant sets. Energetic, South African, interactive and beaming with life. Laduma! Madame Pussy Galore (The Fat Cat) and Madame Ill Fortunato (The Fox) are so humorous. They might have stolen the show, so effective as a comedic duo. A lot of comedic moments, I loved the puns and dramatic irony, breaking the fouth wall at times. Pest control was needed for Jiminy Cricket, he was doomed!

Pinocchio is the journey of a wooden puppet who magically comes to life and dreams of becoming a real boy. Katlego Nche plays Pinocchio, he is wonderful and he transforms into a real boy. Bongi Archi is a relatable father figure for Pinocchio. He can speak African languages, in fact, every character drifted off to their home languages once in a while, to convey a point or deliver comedic punchline. The show is filled with a lot of those, this is not just a kiddies show. There was also pop culture references and jokes for grown-ups. Singalong’s are a given and the audience participated and danced along. Laduma! CR7! SUII! Lesedi Rich is boundless energy as Lampwick Rich!

The sets colorful, larger than life, neon lights, full of imagination! Two acts with an interval, the whole journey is so much fun!

The actors
Katlego Nche – Pinocchio
Gina Shmukler – Bella Bouboulina
Sandi Dlangalala – Jiminy Cricket
Bongi Archi – Geppetto Spoletto
Lesedi Rich – Lampwick Spaghetti
Tiaan Rautenbach – Dame Arletti Spaghetti
Brenda Radloff – Madame Ill’ Fortunato (Fox)
Camilla Waldman – Madame Pussy Galore (Cat)
Mark Richardson – Senor Napolio Strombolio
Luciano Zuppa – Luciano Panzarotti
Noluthando Mathebula – Dainty Dolly

Costume Designer: Mariska Meyer

Set Designer and Builder: Enos Ramoroko

Lighting Designer: Johan Ferreira

Congratulations Janice Honeyman and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

📸: SamSays

Barbershop Chronicles

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Barbershop Chronicles

At the Market Theatre for the opening of Inua Ellam’s  Barbershop Chronicles. I postponed releasing this because the show centers a lot around a very painful memory. The UEFA Champions League semi-final against Chelsea. A tie Chelsea won by deploying negative tactics, a low block, parking the bus at the Camp Nou and countering with a last minute Fernando Torres goal. The cast of the show are having a lot of fun with that result, a lot of these barbers around the world are Chelsea fans. I am very much a Barcelona fan.

The play chronicles six different barbershops scattered across London and various African cities: including Lagos, Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, and Accra. The whole story unfolds over the course of a single day, though in different times and places, giving a sweeping, episodic sense of lives, connections and conversations across the diaspora. The play covers themes of black masculinity, identity, fatherhood, absent fathers, intergenerational relationships, community, belonging, vulnerability and healing. The performers have soul and personality. They are authentic and lively, they are humorous, they have quirks. The show has a lot of energy and enthusiasm but also emotional and intimate. There’s even singing and choreographed dancing – a truly spectacular show! It evokes feelings of nostalgia, it’s familiar in every timezone. I loved visiting Lagos, Abongile Matyutyu is an unbelievable actor! So happy and relieved when his customer came back late to pay him for the haircut. Everyone is awesome!

The actors
Farai Chigudu
Langalibalele Mathuthu
Tumelo Namtweya-Phiri
Nhlakanipho Manqele
Luntu Masiza
Abongile Matyutyu
Thabang Chauke
Anthony Oseyemi
Mthokozisi Oseyemi
Mthokozisi Emkay Khanyile

I was patient, I waited for another match in the Champions League against Chelsea so I could have the last laugh. FC Barcelona lost 3-0.

I really dislike Chelsea.

Congratulations Sibusiso Mamba and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

📸: SamSays

Medea

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Medea

At the Market Theatre for the opening of Medea. A production by The Windybrow Arts Center. For 4 performances only, don’t miss it!

A Greek classic reimagined. So dramatic, Shakespearean, tragic! The performances so gripping and captivating – you can’t look away, they demand your attention. The dialogues and monologues so heartfelt and expressive, delivered with so much conviction. Love, betrayal, poison, death, Medea.

I can’t even lie, I was disgusted by Medea’s actions. To kill your own children not out of hatred but spite, revenge because she knew it would destroy Jason emotionally! The only memory of the children that prevailed was their superhero action figures (Superman and Batman) – a signifier of their innocence. They didn’t do anything to anyone, they were just playing and running around in their superhero capes. Until their despicable mother used them for her nefarious murderous ends. Deplorable, souless woman.

The performers were fantastic, portraying the darkside of human nature, revenge, betrayal, love, poison, death, Medea. I’ve never experienced such wickedness in my life. The props; rusted and old, there is no water, a sink there, a fridge there and table with chairs. A thorn crown hovers above the stage. Gofaone Bodigelo is fantastic as Medea, she never misses a beat, she is the pulse, fantastic monologues delivered with precision, feeling and emotion. The play also stars Thingo Mcanyana, Jack Mabokachaba and Londa Mkhize. Shakespearean, beautiful sets and utterly shocking.

Congratulations Leila Henriques and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

📸: SamSays

Ka Lebitso La Moya

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Ka Lebitso La Moya

At the Market Theatre for the opening of Ka Lebitso La Moya. Winner of five Naledi Theatre Awards including best production in a play and best director for Momo Matsunyane.

We open in Ha Satane, a fictional township rife with with despair and hopelessness. Unemployment, crime, no service delivery, no electricity and no water. The residents take to the streets protesting, looting, demanding a change and the head of the current counselor.

Inside the Evangelist Church of Christ is where we find hope. The church serves as a pillar for the community. We are in the church serving as congregates. There is singing and praise for our lord and savior. The mood is festive and in high spirits, jubilation reigns. Ka Lebitso La Moya serves as a greeting for the congregation, a form of endearment that connects and unites. The pastor is charismatic and has women congregates vying for his attention. He is almost lured with Chakakalaka by an admirer but the pastors wife intercepts and stops things from going far. The pastor plans to be a counselor for Ha Satane considering his good standing in the community. This is a facade, he is a man of dubious character, a false prophet lying to his congregation with impunity, grooming underaged girls at church. He uses his power to manipulate an underage girl to call him “daddy”. A love interest of his son. After having his way with the underage girl (rape), he is cold and distant, instructing the girl that he is not his “daddy”. The girl is in a mess, she’s not the same, once a lead in the choir. She becomes a shell of who she was. She is troubled, broken and completely out of it. His son finds out about the relations between his father and love interest and decides to poison his father but he ends up poisoning his love interest instead.

The play is a humorous, fast paced and relatable musical that depicts life in the township. Josias ‘Dos’ Moleele plays the pastor, he feels familiar, his mannerisms and conduct mimics a stereotypical pastor in the township. Ka Lebitso La Moya, he is a preacher, a shapeshifter, a deceiver, he loves women and he exhibits preditory behavior. He won the Naledi for best actor for a reason, his performance is captivating and supremely entertaining. He is your definition of a false prophet and he knows this and is unapologetic about it, profiting and showing no remorse.

Siyasanga Papu plays two characters, one of the characters, the pastors wife. The most amazing singer in the program, she beats them all!

The other actors are amazing too:
Sibusiso ‘Black’ Madondo
Khutjo Green
Zevangeli Mampofu
Chrisophocus Seboka

The pianist Tshepo Dean is emphatic, he sets the mood, he is the pulse, he seamlessly moves from scene to scene, he feels, he has range, he is totally in the story.

Ka Lebitso La Moya! This is an amazing play! We were in Church. We even stood on our feet to the choir girls demand and sang with her, she picked two people from the audience to come on stage and sing and dance with her. It was an experience, it was realistic. Conversations in Sesotho, Tswana, Xhosa, Venda and English because we are in the township. Conversations free-flowing and naturalistic. The characters had character and personality.

Ka Lebitso La Moya! I loved everything about this play.

Congratulations Momo Matsunyane and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

First Light

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First Light

At Joburg Theatre for the Final Dress Rehearsal of “First Light”. A ballet production by Joburg Ballet, an outstanding show. I fell in love with Ryoko Yagyu, the dedication, precision and finesse is incredible, so beautiful. Theres classical ballet, contemporary and African. Five acts: Raymonda Act 3, Mpho, Nothing Twice, Concerto for Charlie and Classics of Spain. Raymonda Act 3 is the classical ballet, cheographed by Maruis Petipa, music by Alexander Glazunov, spinning on toes, leaps and jumps – classical music in background. High class, aristocracy, upper class and regal, stage is lit brightly, you can see everything, Ryoko Yagyu is amazing, she moves like a swan, pillars at the back and on sides, set in medieval Hungary.

Mpho Contemporary African dance, Tswana, choreography Tumelo Lekana, music by Peter Mpho Mothiba. Unique instruments, drums, African attire. Ulations, praises in the back, whistles and drums the sound, traditional, graceful movement, 3 female dancers standing and spinning on toes. 90 degree spins, so graceful, so beautiful.

3rd dance is dark and edgy, nothing twice, choreographed by Chloe Blair, heavy strings, dark atmosphere with only the spotlight light illuminated from the left, perfect choreography from other dancers, they exit leaving Mario Gaglione and Ryoko Yagyu on the stage, outstanding, slow moving, gliding, contemplative, emotive. Smoke on the stage and screen, beige costumes, utter perfection and overwhelmingly beautiful. In sync and on the same wavelength. Perfect synergy.

Fouth act chandeliers, choreography Veronica Paeper, contemporary work, graceful leaping and jumping, fast paced piano is the music, classical, spinning, pink and beige costumes. Transition to soft, delicate keys. Complete trust from dancers. Splits and finesse.

Fifth act is a Carmen theme, gorgeous red and black costumes, backdrop Seville. Dramatic act. Choreography and Production by Bruno Miranda. Music by George Bizet. Outstanding costumes Joburg Ballet.

Congratulations Joburg Ballet and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

Celestial bodies

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Celestial bodies

At Joburg Theatre for Celestial bodies, a collaboration between Joburg Ballet and Universe on Stage. I was so excited for this.

The execution was stunning, better than in my imagination. I saw the Universe on Stage lecture earlier in the year, it was such an experience! Dr. Luca Pontiggia and Yasheen Modi simplified science, it lost its fear factor, it wasn’t intimidating. With the help of animation, immersive sound and curated narration, they told the story of the big bang, black holes, stars and existence itself. I really loved that lecture, I learned so much.

The Universe on Stage team is back again, this time with Joburg Ballet. The auditorium pitch black, huge screen at the back, the stage empty and Yasheen, the pianist is on the side. Dr. Luca Pontiggia comes in and out the stage.

Impossible to describe the beauty of the ballet dancers. They feel, they show vulnerability. So much poise, technique and beauty. Perfect bodies without a blemish. Stretching, 180 degrees splits in the air, skipping and spinning on their toes. So much elegance, discipline and strength and yet there is a stillness and serenity in the artform. It evokes awe and wonder, you get goosebumps, you gasp – so beautiful.

The costumes by Mari Robinson and Mario Gaglione are so gorgeous!

Lighting design by Simon King set the mood, engulfed by darkness. So minimal, effective and powerful. It concentrated all your energy and focus to the stage.

Darius Botha is the unsung hero with the awesome visuals and animation.

Yasheen Modi just might be the greatest Pianist of all time.

Dr. Luca Pontiggia is brilliant as the narrator. We learned about the big bang, stars and the beauty of the universe.

Thank you so much Di.

Congratulations Mario Gaglione and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

Born to perform

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Born to perform

At the Teatro for “Born to perform”, big day, a time perform, to shine. Youthful energy, vibrant, anticipating to get this done, they love it, they want to dazzle and entertain. Stageworxs alumni, everywhere in the world, successful, thriving, living out their dreams. Jessica Driver among the alumni, served in ABBA and the Taylor Swift Eras in theatres all around the world to much acclaim. Today she was handing out the baton to the next generation, so symbolic, powerful. Zinah Rose and Graeme Watkins were outstanding as hosts. A lot of comedic moments. Like when Graeme came on to the stage with no pants. Zinah had them. The show had everything, everybody performed their hearts out, even the kids. Well practiced and delivered with precision, love and dedication. Fourways High, ST. Vincent for the deaf and NSA are the schools participating, Beauty and the Beast featured, Naledi Award winner Neo Kele performed and Mia Nupen was mezmarrizing, she sang and did ballet, standing on her toes, so majestic, so beautiful. Yahto Kraft is so incredible! He stunned Riky Rick and Lira on popular music show “The Voice”, the judges didn’t know what to say, they were pressing buttons followed by a standing ovation by everyone in the auditorium. That is still his content, he played the Evil ring master and Jesus in the same year. This time he sang Meatloaf classics, that’s always great. The crowd was appreciative. Simphiwe Ndhlovu was a lot of fun. There was a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy and a lot of people involved in the production. I met Matthew Marinus.

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

📷: SamSays

AIDA

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AIDA

At Ster-Kinekor Theatres, Rosebank Nouveau to watch the premier of Verdi’s Aida on the big screen. A production by Cape Town Opera performed at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town. I can claim having gone to Cape Town, such was the experience. The visuals in HD and the sound crisp, it was like being in the Artscape auditorium. I kid you not 15 minutes before the show, one of my poems titled “Cape Town” got a like. Cape Town is calling my name again, I don’t believe in coincidences, it’s synchronicities, I read Jung.

A grand production this is. It is spectacular! Egyptian mythology, Isis, vibrant costumes, colorful and bursting with imagination. 4 acts, huge stage. The Opera is sung in Italian, English subtitles for continuity and following with the story. The set evokes the feeling of Egypt with a big triangle hovering in the air against a backdrop of a gold wall that has imagery of the eye of horus. A chorus of 56 singers and dancers who are simply perfect. The singing is phenomenal, we were clapping along with the audience on the screen. A masterclass on technique and finesse, high notes are a given but it’s also about the texture and feel. Opera is emotive and expressive. US based conductor Kamal Khan leads the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.

Set in ancient Egypt, Aida is a tragic love story involving: Aida, an Ethiopian princess enslaved in Egypt. Radamès, an Egyptian military commander who is in love with Aida. Amneris, the Egyptian king’s daughter, who is also in love with Radamès. The plot revolves around love, loyalty, betrayal, and the conflict between personal desire and duty to one’s country. It ends tragically, as Radamès and Aida are entombed alive for their forbidden love. Yes, buried alive for love.

Gregory Maqoma provides the choreography. A must see for Opera lovers. This production is simply irresistible.

Congratulations Cape Town Opera and the whole team for a great show and a deserved standing ovation.

Dr. Strangelove

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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.

📷: Manuel Harlan