MUSIC: Gwen Ansell ‘AUTHENTICITY,” says a Zairois buddy of mine who prefers not to be named, ”was probably one of the few decent things Mobutu ever did.” He’s referring to the Zairean dictator’s post- independence campaign to reclaim the country’s cultural heritage. Its manifestations ranged from a strict dress code (men had to wear the […]
TELEVISION: Andrew Worsdale CAUSE Celebre — made in 1988 for Britain’s ITV, and to be screened on SABC3 next week — – is an adaptation of Terence Rattigan’s acclaimed play of the same name. The play is, in turn, based on the true story of glamorous Alma Rattenbury, accused, along with her 18- year-old lover […]
New soapie The Burning Issue just doesn’t wash, says ANDREW WORSDALE WHY are South African sit-coms and soapies so strained and dreadful and boring? My belief is it’s because they try to serve as education and as drama, with teaching and issues always taking the upper hand. Apart from the critically acclaimed hit series Soul […]
Bridgette A Lacy THE SEASONS OF BEENTO BLACKBIRD by Akosua Busia (Hutchinson, R97,95) IMAGINE a man who is “a broad-shouldered six- foot-four silhouette headed across the tarmac like a panther on the prowl . Focused. Upright. Full of power.” Did I mention that this man spends winters with one wife on a Caribbean island and […]
HAZEL FRIEDMAN reports on the controversial Section 13 clause and an outcry over control of state arts funding CULTURAL workers this week lashed out at the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST) for trying to hijack the independence of the newly established National Arts Council (NAC), the non-governmental statutory body that holds the […]
Soul-jazz diva Erykah Badu is climbing the world’s charts and has been hailed as the new Billie Holliday. DAN GLAISTER takes in her British debut INCENSE, candles, an ethnic curio on the floor – the set suggests voodoo, but this is no voodoo show. Welcome to Baduizm, the precinct of Erykah Badu, a 26-year-old singer-songwriter […]
The winner of 1997’s first Grand Slam tournament became the youngest No 1 in the history of women’s tennis when she succeeded Steffi Graf TENNIS:Stephen Bierley THE man in the Lipton Championships courtesy car knew a lot about tennis. He eased himself back in his driving seat, squinted into the dazzling early-morning Florida sun and […]
CRICKET: Pat McDermott MUCH has been said about the brittleness of the South African top order. It has assumed the proportions of a national crisis in the bars where the followers of cricket dissect the manner in which the touring Australians have shown such disdain for the best this country has to offer. It is […]
THEATRE: Julie Barker `THE struggle never made me famous.” These are words uttered by a gangster at the height of his career. This is Gomorrah!, a powerful new work directed by Pule Hlatshwayo, and conceived by the cast, all graduates of the Market Theatre Laboratory. Gomorrah! explores the inevitability of violence as a way of […]
The latest SA/UK gospel choir collaboration is a sign of the rebirth of interest in local choral music. GWENANSELL looks at the state of songs of praise HIT parade trends may come and go, but South Africa’s love affair with gospel seems to go on forever. Its latest expression is an incandescent vocal collaboration between […]