Catch Napo Masheane and Friends
CAPE TOWN
- Grant van Ster and Shaun Oelf of Figure of Eight Dance Collective will present their acclaimed work Architecture of Tears, which was staged at the 2014 Baxter Dance Festival. They have teamed up with the Baxter’s Lara Foot to present a new dance and theatre work dealing with Shakespeare’s characters Iago and Othello. Foot worked with both artists on Fishers of Hope, with Oelf as a cast member and Van Ster as choreographer. The double bill of Iago and Architecture of Tears will showcase their talents and expand the repertoire they have built up in such a short space of time. WHEN April 9 to 18 at 7pm. WHERE Baxter Theatre. INFO R100 a ticket. Visit www.baxter.co.za
- Held in association with Playboy magazine South Africa, Shimmy Beach Club will host a bunny party featuring an all-female DJ line-up. Partygoers are encouraged to dress up because prizes will be given for “Best Hugh Hefner” and “Best Dressed Bunny Girl”. WHEN Saturday April 4 from 9pm until late. WHERE Shimmy Beach Club. INFO To pre-book and receive VIP entrance, or email [email protected]. Entry is R100 a person.
- SAS Somerset & Other War Stories is an installation by Stephen Hobbs in collaboration with David Krut Projects, representing the pre-production state of a series of performances on the world’s last boom defence vessel, an Iziko Maritime Centre artefact. The installation will demonstrate a unique and dynamic use of dazzle patterning and lighting on to a mock assemblage of the SAS Somerset; a spectacle conceived to enliven and transform the perception of the vessel’s significance in location and history. The installation provides a counterpoint to Hobbs’s solo exhibition, Permanent Culture, an elaborate multimedia revelry in the optical and psychological effects of camouflage. It will be on view alongside the installation for the duration of this pop-up exhibition. WHEN From April 2, 5pm to 9pm. WHERE Twenty Fifty, 1st Floor, 8 Spin Street.
- British playwright David Hare’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers launches the new season from National Theatre Live. Based on the book by Pulitzer prize-winner Katherine Boo and directed by Rufus Norris, the production was filmed for cinema broadcast at the National’s Olivier Theatre in London. WHEN and WHERE Cinema Nouveau theatres in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town from April 4.
OUDTSHOORN
- Renowned South African comedian Nik Rabinowitz presents his new show What the EFF?, a tongue-in-cheek look at the current state of affairs in South Africa. WHEN April 5 to 8. WHERE Rembrandt Hall, KKNK. INFO Tickets cost R120 from Computicket.
SUN CITY
- The open-air, family-styled event, Swing City under the Stars brings together Graeme Watkins of the Graeme Watkins Project, Loyiso Bala and Lloyd Cele backed by brass players Neil Engel, Justin Holcroft and Justin Sassman to pay tribute to swing. WHEN April 4 from 7pm WHERE Sun City. INFO Tickets are R100 for adults, R50 for children aged 12 to 18 and free entry for children under 12. Bookings at Computicket. The ticket price includes a welcome drink on arrival.
JOHANNESBURG
- In his 70th year and after 35 one-man shows, Pieter-Dirk Uys celebrates his survival of more than three decades in theatre with a tribute to those who made it possible – the audience – in his new “game show”, An Audience with Pieter-Dirk EISH. WHEN Until April 12. WHERE Pieter Toerien Theatre, Montecasino, Fourways. INFO Bookings at Computicket.
- Tapestry Studio Textured Translations: The Stephens Tapestry pays tribute to the extraordinary talent of Marguerite Stephens, founder and owner of the Stephens Tapestry Studio in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, and the contribution she has made to art in South Africa through her collaborations with artists such as William Kentridge, Walter Battiss, Sam Nhlengethwa and Penny Siopis. WHEN Until April 11 at 2pm. WHERE Gallery AOP, 44 Stanley Avenue, Braamfontein Werf. Visit www.artonpaper.co.za for more info.
- Fresh from her performance at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, urban chanteuse Amel Larrieux of Groove Theory fame will be treating Johannesburg audiences to a two-day tour. The event will be supported by local DJs. The opening live act had not been named at the time of going to print. There will also be an afterparty. WHEN April 2 and 3 from 8pm. WHERE Carfax, 39 Gwigwi Mrwebi Street, Newtown. COST R350 for early bird tickets or R400 at the door.
- The Art of the Brick, the world-renowned Lego art exhibit is geared for the whole family, students and Lego fans of all ages. Visitors will see 75 original sculptures created by Nathan Sawaya, who used more than one million Lego bricks. Artworks include his most famous work to date, Yellow, which famously featured in Lady Gaga’s music video G.U.Y, as well as other sculptures such as the T-Rex skeleton constructed from more than 80?000 Lego bricks, which measures about 6m in length. WHEN April 3. WHERE The Zone, Rosebank. INFO Tickets cost R140 for adults and R95 for people under 18. Bookings at Computicket
- Catch Napo Masheane and Friends, and the shows Song of Nongoma and We Chant as part of the Soweto Theatre Easter Festival. Masheane will perform with Ladies in Jazz, accompanied by all-male a capella group Beyond Vocal, whose unique gospel sounds will be infused with poetry as the Fat Black Women Sing bring beauty and humour to spoken word. Song of Nongoma is a free-jazz operetta inspired by Credo Mutwa and written by Kgafela Oa Magogodi and Steve Kwena Mokwena. We Chant is a song and dance spectacle by Nhlanhla Mahlangu in collaboration with Jefferson Tshabalala. WHEN From April 2 to 5. WHERE Soweto Theatre. INFO R210 for a three-day pass to all the events. Visit www.sowetotheatre.com for more details.
DURBAN
- The KZNSA Gallery presents major photographs in the ongoing Structures of Dominion and Democracy series by David Goldblatt. Structures is a major body of work described by Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer as “an extraordinary visual history of a country and its people”. Curated by Peter McKenzie, the exhibition traverses the distinct eras in our history. Instead of the word baasskap, Goldblatt refers to the era of inequality as dominion. Recent exhibitions of the series have concentrated on the period after the fall of apartheid, but the exhibition at KZNSA contains images dating back as far as 1963. WHEN Until April 19. WHERE KZNSA Gallery.
Ozzie Docrat with his daughter Nassima in his shop before its closure and destruction under the Group Areas proclamation which declared Pageview/Fietas, a White group area. Johannesburg, 1976 (Image by David Goldblatt).
- The Durban Catholic Players’ Guild will present the 14th Durban Passion Play, Oberammergau of Africa, an epic production depicting the final period of Jesus’s life, from his visit to Jerusalem to his crucifixion. Directed by Dawn Haynes and Tanya Conradie, the 150-plus cast comprises an inter-denominational group of people who vary in age from toddlers and teenagers to young adults and the more mature. WHEN Until April 19. WHERE Playhouse Drama Theatre. INFO A special performance for deaf people will take place on April 12 at 2:30pm. Contact [email protected]