It’s that time of year again when the annual Mercury Durban Theatre Awards recognise the best and brightest of the city’s 2011 theatre season.
This year there are 34 productions vying for honours in the genres of drama, comedy, musical theatre, cabaret and children’s theatre. The ninth edition of the event is hosted by Eastern Mosaic’s Jailoshini Naidoo and promises to be a sophisticated and glamorous celebration of the local theatre industry.
As Monday night is a night off for most productions, the audience can expect to brush shoulders with the who’s who of Durban’s theatre fraternity. The evening includes excerpts from several shows as well as a few glimpses into the upcoming festive season fare.
Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Monday November 21 at 7.30pm. Tickets R80 from Computicket.
? A palpable slap in the face of television reality show Pop Idols is Boep Idles, a new musical comedy caper cooked up by irrepressible mischief-makers the Gee Jays — Gary McKenzie, Grant Bell and John Didlick.
Described as “definitely not for the faint-hearted”, the irreverent show nevertheless promises to be “a real foot-stomping, thigh-slapping all-out laugh for the festive season”. The show is based on the premise that all the greats of yesteryear, the “true showmen and women of the 1960s and 1970s”, are now sitting at home with a beer balanced on their boeps watching all the talentless wannabes of Pop Idols turn the art of popular entertainment into a farce. So no Gareth Gates or Will Young here — the show features songs from the real idols who put in the hard yards — no instant stardom, just good old-fashioned talent in the form of Cliff Richard, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Billy Joel, Tom Jones and many more.
The Heritage Theatre, Westville, until December 31. Tickets are R165 for Tuesday evenings and Sunday lunchtime, and R190 on Wednesday to Saturday. The price includes a two-course meal. Otherwise you can watch the show for only R100. Special corporate lunchtime shows available. Tel: 031 765 4197. Website: www.heritagetheatre.co.za.