Gcugcwa Creative Productions’ acclaimed musical, Happiness through the Mist, comes to the Pietermaritzburg stage following its successful runs in the Playhouse Loft and Catalina theatres in Durban.
Written and directed by Zeph Nzama and starring Thabane Mahlobo, Scelo Ngcobo and Muzi Mhlanga, it is a compelling mixture of infectious music, wry humour and dialogue that celebrates the extraordinary cultural heritage of the historic Umkhumbane district, Durban’s vibrant equivalent of Sophiatown and District Six.
Hexagon Theatre, Pietermaritzburg, May 13 and 14, 7.30pm. Tickets are R70 and R40 for students. Tel: 033 260 5537.
The drama departments of the Durban University of Technology and the University of KwaZulu-Natal join forces for an ambitious project in the form of a new production of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, the masterful modern interpretation of David R Slavitt’s free-verse translation of Ovid’s epic cycle of mythic poems.
Open Air Theatre, University of KwaZulu-Natal, May 13 to 22, 6.30pm. Tel: 031 373 2194.
The Coolie Odyssey, Rajesh Gopie’s insightful production about the lives of indentured workers from India who arrived in Natal to work on the sugar plantations, returns to Pietermaritzburg for a commemorative season. The play’s remarkable plot unfolds as its narrator, a reincarnated monkey with memories of its previous human incarnations, types up his story on an old typewriter. The story is that of Ramlal Kilhari, an indentured labourer who arrived in Durban in 1888 and his searches for identity, belonging and salvation against the backdrop of those pioneering colonial times. The cast includes newcomers Yateen Dayaram, Avershree Maistry and Don Mosenye, and seasoned actors Conrad Kemp and Rajesh Gopie.
Hexagon Theatre, Pietermaritzburg, May 19 to 28. Tickets R100. Tel: 033 260 5537. Email: [email protected].
Showy, flashy, ostentatious, garish, sensational — these words all apply to piano maestro Liberace, arguably the most flamboyant entertainer of the 20th century. Popular South African pianist and entertainer Rocco de Villiers pays tribute to this eccentric artist in Liberocco, which enjoyed a successful tour around the country before returning to Durban.
Rhumbelow Theatre, 22 Cunningham Avenue, May 13 and 14 (8pm) and May 15 (6.30pm). Tickets are R100 and the venue opens 90 minutes before the show for picnic dinners, with braais and cash bar provided. Book at Computicket or the venue. Tel: 031 205 7602 or 082 499 8636. Email: [email protected].
For more listings go to mg.co.za/whatson