Don’t Miss This: May 8 – 14

JOHANNESBURG

• Let’s Get It On – The Life and Music of Marvin Gaye stars Idols SA runner-up Lloyd Cele as Gaye and is produced by award-winning producer Simon Myers and Room 8 Productions’ Moira Bennett. This will be their first South African production. The show, which explores Gaye’s humble beginnings, his troubled relationship with his father, his search for meaning and the music that defined a generation, features some of his most loved hits. WHEN Until May 16 at 8pm (Thursday to Saturday) and 3pm (Sunday). WHERE The Mandela at Joburg Theatre, Braamfontein. INFO Tickets range from R180 to R350 from joburgtheatre.com

• Simon Gush’s new exhibition, titled Workplace, is a continuation of his research into labour and how it regulates everyday life. From Calvinism to laziness, Gush extracts meaning from the notion of work and the beliefs that dominate our conception of productivity. “Workplace reasserts Gush’s strong interests in creating an image of and debate around the idea of work today and creates a palimpsest of images and texts that together confront the realities and histories of labour and production in the 21st century.” WHEN Until June 12. WHERE Stevenson Gallery, Braamfontein INFO Visit Stevenson.info

• Chester Missing is a Puppet Parliament is a Cabinet comedy with honourable speaker Mojak Lehoko, and points of laughter from Lihle Msimang, Alfred Adriaan and honourable member Chester Missing. The members of the Cabinet comedy will come together for one night to raise funds to keep brilliant and deserving students in university and create other youth outreach projects, powered by YouthLab. WHEN May 8 at 8pm. WHERE Wits University Great Hall, Braamfontein. INFO Tickets start at R80 from quicket.co.za

Chester Missing with ventriloquist Conrad Koch (Paul Botes, M&G)

• German outfit Schlachthofbronx create a sound that’s a fast-paced, eclectic mix of styles and genres, reflecting influences including dancehall, hip-hop, techno cumbia and British bass. They have built their reputation with production and studio work with and for artists such as Snoop Dogg, M.I.A., Major Lazer and Spoek Mathambo. Schlachthofbronx will promote their new 10-track release, Rave & Romance, in Johannesburg as part of an international tour that includes concerts in Kigali, Yaoundé, Kampala and Nairobi. WHEN May 12 from 9pm. WHERE Kong Club, Rosebank. INFO Tickets cost R100 at the door. kongsa.co.za

PRETORIA

• Twenty: Art in the Time of Democracy is an exhibition of contemporary South African art curated by Gordon Froud, who is a senior lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, on behalf of UJ for Appalachian State University, North Carolina, in July 2014, to mark 20 years of democracy in South Africa. Exhibition themes include the influence of craft on South African art, HIV and Aids, photography from the past 20 years, the Mandela years, human rights, land and land issues, and identity and resistance art. It includes works by William Kentridge, Diane Victor, David Koloane, Mary Sibande and Kagiso Pat Mautloa alongside emergent artists such as Jaco van Schalkwyk, Mbali Dhlamini, Vusi Beauchamp, Bevan de Wet and Phumulani Ntuli. WHEN May 9 to June 21. WHERE North and South Gallery, Pretoria Art Museum, corner of Francis Baard (Schoeman) and Wessels streets, Arcadia Park, Arcadia. Call 012?344?1807.

CAPE TOWN

• Current is a group exhibition featuring work by local artists including Rose Mudge, Marsi van de Heuvel, David Brits, Julia Merrett, Jeanne Gaigher and Dale Lawrence. Curated by Amy Ellenbogen, the exhibition will include photography, printmaking, drawing and painting. “We look at Cape Town as site specific – how have the currents of the past created our present reality?” says Ellenbogen. WHEN Until May?27. WHERE Smith, 56 Church Street. INFO Visit smithstudio.co.za
  

Public Swimming Pool 2011 Dark City by Ashley Walters is featured in the Current exhibition. 

• Catch the Africa Voices Trust Gala Concert: Voices of Hope, which showcases artists on stage alongside singer Vusi Mahlasela. The event is a fundraiser to support the Africa Voices Trust, a non-profit organisation aiming to develop young South African musicians. WHEN May 8 at 8pm. WHERE The Baxter Theatre Centre, Concert Hall. INFO Early-bird tickets cost R130 and R150 thereafter at computicket.com. Visit africavoices.co.za

DURBAN

• Dear Mandela, the multi- award-winning documentary film directed by Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza, will be screened in informal settlements to highlight human rights issues and inform people of their rights. The film follows the journey of three friends living in Durban’s shantytowns who refuse to move when the government begins evicting residents to “eradicate the slums”. The three become leaders in a social movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo. Funded by the Ford Foundation, the tour will include workshops for local leaders, run by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute. WHEN & WHERE May?9: Hindu Surat Foundation, 137 Dr Goonam Street, Durban; May?10: Silver City Community Hall, Umlazi, Durban; May?16: Green Point Hall, Khayelitsha, Cape Town; May?17: Community Hall, Sweet Home Farm, Philippi, Cape Town. INFO Follow the tour on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Tumblr (@dearmandela).