<i>Tapsula</i>, a new Market Theatre production, puts pantsula dancers in tap shoes and transforms tap from a sleek dance form to a gyrating surge of force with furious arm swinging and determined stomping. Together they are like a herd of springboks in tap shoes – hit by a car, but still jumping, writes Benjamin Joffe-Walt.
What would be an appropriate metaphor to reflect the state of South African theatre in the first 10 years of democracy? Perhaps it would be <i>At Her Feet</i>, a play that was rejected by the National Arts Council (NAC), which suggested that playwright Nadia Davids rewrite her script to include other racial groups, only for the play in its original format to win two prestigious Fleur du Cap awards a few weeks later, writes Mike van Graan.
The development of contemporary dance has often been hailed as one of the more remarkable artistic achievements in our new democracy. And times are changing for dancers, once considered the enfants terribles of the arts industries, writes Jay Pather.
Cixi, the last empress of China (1856 to 1908), is one of those historical figures people love to be nasty about. But the tide of opinion now seems to be turning. New read <i>Empress Orchid</i> is a further, feminist step on the road to her rehabilitation, writes Julia Lovell.
Radio and newspaper journalists have excelled in the Western Cape Vodacom Journalist of the Year Regional Awards, with the Independent Newspaper group and SAfm each scooping two awards.
"Two years ago, I received a letter from Singapore’s ministry of health. It informed me that since I had been awarded permanent residence in Singapore, I would be automatically included in the country’s Human Organ Transplant Act scheme." Does South Africa’s shortage of organ donors call for similar measures?
It’s the ‘Lord of the Rings’ of music concerts. The cast is stellar, the sets dramatic and the costumes fancy, and it carries on for hours.
”After having just seen Mind Games I’m waiting at the theatre bar to interview its creator and star, Marc Salem. And I can’t decide whether I should make a break for it or silently pray that his publicist will phone to tell me Salem doesn’t feel up to it.” Alex Sudheim opens herself to a real mind bender.
A record number of women are expected to take part in Sweden’s annual moose hunt when it opens next week, with women now making up a quarter of those passing hunting exams, officials say. Hunting is a hugely popular national pastime in Sweden, in particular the moose hunt, and is as much a part of life for the country’s working class as it is for the rich.
Reconciliation is the stuff of ex-pat legend, sipping G&Ts in Happy Valley, spreading white mischief on the veranda at safe distance from the real lives and real problems of the ”natives”. But keeping your distance only serves to keep you distant, writes Phyllida Cox.