Friday night :Xoli Norman There is something unrelentingly inviting about the Newtown art and entertainment scene, especially on Fridays. The sparsely peopled district brings on a dense nostalgia evocative of the good old days of a vibrant Market Theatre precinct. Today the place retains an edgy vibe, but for different reasons. What people fight for […]

After a tiring week creating the universe, the earth and us, God rested. And being God, he foresaw that one day there would be war and high-rise buildings and traffic and technology that would speed up human life beyond endurance. And he said: “Let there be the Seychelles.” These 92 islands and islets, spread over […]

Loose cannon: Robert Kirby It is with grim amusement that we have watched the lumbering egg-dance – or should we rather say egg-toyi-toyi – which has attended the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) final report. As a display of professional political hypocrisy, this one has been a winner all the way. First […]

Tangeni Amupadhi The death of kwaito star Makhendlas brings into sharp focus the culture of violence and unrelenting proliferation of guns in South Africa. Behind the facade of success kwaito musicians are just as vulnerable to crime as the ordinary South African. Many can list incidents of criminal activities directed at them, particularly at performances. […]

Janyne Simon-Meyer The rand may be down and interest rates up, but South Africans are not sitting at home these holidays. The mainstream traveller is seeking out good value destinations – like Asia – and sensible savings like all-inclusive or cut-rate package deals. Internationally, Thailand and Malaysia are the hottest best-value holiday spots. The shopping […]

Review of the week: Matthew Krouse Classical music always garnered a heap of bad press in the old South Africa. Great works of Western music were, we were informed, part of a Eurocentric dominance – an unnecessary aberration in the lives of poor Africans. Apparently, so we’re told, times have changed. Today, a generation of […]

Mike Cadman The long, hot and sandy track that runs from Maun to Kasane across some of Botswana’s best wildlife country is rapidly becoming one of Africa’s most popular overland trips. Youngsters from New Jersey, retired couples from Bavaria, backpackers from Holland and a seemingly endless flow of other tourists lured by the twin attractions […]

Not CDs of the week: Shaun de Waal It was reported a while ago that David Bowie had declined to be involved in Todd Haynes’s new glam rock movie, Velvet Goldmine. The reason given was Bowie’s desire to hang on to his seminal Seventies creation, Ziggy Stardust, for future exploitation by himself. I suspect, however, […]

On a Warner Brothers press junket to Los Angeles Alex Dodd found a flip side to the dream factory For someone as hopelessly addicted to the glittery escape of celluloid as I am, the prospect of a trip to Los Angeles had me surfing waves of fantasy. Images of wild, wild Nicholas Cage cruising down […]

Peter Makurube It has taken a long time but at last the real heroes of South African jazz are being honoured. The Untold Story, a show held in memory of jazz greats of an era gone by, is part of the ongoing African Renaissance series. Soloists will interpret the works of icons like Dudu Pukwana, […]