The Grahamstown festival may be only a week away, but there’s still plenty of interesting theatre on offer in Cape Town.
■ Stuur Groete aan Mannetjies Roux is a new Afrikaans musical based on Laurika Rauch’s hit songs such as Toemaar die Donker Man, Op Blouberg se Strand, Die Gang, My Ou Tante Koba and Kinders van die Wind. Set on a farm in the Camdeboo, it is the story of a young girl who visits her uncle and aunt to find out who she is and where she really comes from. Early on in the story, a stranger, Toemaar, and his donkey arrive. The girl suspects there is a connection between them. Paul Eilers directs Deon Lotz, Isadora Verwey, Ilse Klink, Nicole Holm and Eben Genis. Musical direction is by Clinton Zerf.
Artscape Theatre Centre, Foreshore, until July 3. Book at Computicket. Tel: 021 421 7695. Website: www.artscape.co.za.
■ The Mechanical’s 2011 Repertory Season opens with two plays playing on alternate weeks. Until July 23 is Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound, a farce parodying country-house whodunnits. It is about two outsiders drawn into a puzzling murder story they only half understand. Christopher Weare directs a cast that includes Scott Sparrow, Tinarie van Wyk Loots, Kate Liquorish, Adrian Collins and newcomer Nandi Horak. Langley Kirkwood makes a welcome return to the Mechanicals playing the rakish lover. Luke Ellenbogen directs Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind from June 28, a dark comedy exploring family dysfunction and the nature of love.
The Little Theatre, 37 Orange Street, Gardens. Website: www.themechanicals.co.za. Book at Computicket.