Birdman is the fictionalised account of a con artist-turned-pioneering aviator in the late 1800’s, one Augustus St. John Merriweather, who wishes to build a machine capable of manned human flight... at least that’s what he’s telling everyone. We follow him in lecture halls, post offices and his laboratory as he works towards conning sponsors into investing in a steam-powered glider that will reshape human history, .... or his own. Throughout the play, as he relates his trials and troubles in getting the rich to part with their money, and the glider to work, he builds the contraption on stage, and relates his own history to his sister, Rebecca, speaking of his dreams to get away with the scoop of the century. But when Rebecca abandons him, his dreams change and it becomes a question of proving to her, and to himself, that he is the man of science he has always claimed to be.
Performed by Adam Doré, it is written and directed by Marc Kay.

VENUE SPAR DRAMA CENTRE
TIMES SAT 1730; SUN 1500
DURATION 45 MINS
PRICE R80

Athol Fugard’s classic story of two coloured people trapped in a struggle for freedom and dignity set during apartheid South Africa, is directed by Daisy Spencer and features Rory Booth and Caitlin Kilburn in the title roles, with Mthokozisi Zulu as “Outa.

Fugard described an encounter he had that influenced the creation of Boesman and Lena: on a hot August day in 1965, he and two friends were driving along a rural road when they saw an old woman trudging along with all of her worldly possessions tied up in a bundle on her head. They stopped and offered her a ride. She cried at their unexpected kindness, and during the fifteen-mile trip to a farm up the road, she told them about the death of her husband three days earlier and her nine missing children. If Fugard and his companions hadn't stopped to offer her a ride, she would have followed her plan to sleep in a storm water drain that night and continue her long journey the next day.

The play premiered in Grahamstown at the Rhodes University Little Theatre in 1969 with Fugard as Boesman and Yvonne Bryceland as Lena. Glyn Day, a white actor, played Outa in blackface make up. There was a standing ovation and eight curtain calls.

Daisy Spencer says this about the current production: “If you have ever had the fortune of meeting a coloured person, I’m sure you will agree that we are a very special, amusing and interesting race. Yet as unique as we are, we are constantly conflicted by our lack of a sense of belonging. Yes, race is one of the themes Boesman and Lena highlights, but far beyond this, Fugard presents two people whose pain and suffering is as stark as their surroundings.” This production is presented by the Catalina Theatre.

VENUE SPAR DRAMA CENTRE
TIMES SAT 1000; SUN 1000
DURATION 90 MINS
PRICE R70

(photographs by Graham Abbot)

An explosive drama about prejudice set within the volatile context of Muslim, Jewish and Christian relations in Cape Town, but at the same time a touching human story of love.

“Almost without exception, when I tell people that Brothers in Blood deals with relations between Jews, Muslims and Christians, eyebrows are raised, breath is sucked in and feet are shuffled uneasily. It’s as if the subject is taboo, the-theme-which-cannot-be-mentioned, a topic too dramatic and volatile in real life to be explored in theatre. And yet, precisely for these reasons, we need plays that put into the public domain those issues that cause us anxiety, fear and unease, so that theatre can play its role of provoking debate, challenging personal comfort zones, allowing for individual and collective catharsis.” – Mike van Graan.

This highly topical South African play won the Naledi Theatre Award for the Best South African Play in 2009. Written by Mike van Graan, Artscape’s Associate Playwright, and directed by Greg Homann, it features David Dennis as Abubaker Abrahams, Kurt Egelhof as Rev Lionel Fredericks, Aimee Valentine as Leila Abrahams, Harrison Makubalo as Fadiel Suleiman and Conrad Kemp as Brian Cohen. It is produced in 2012 by Artscape.

• “A brilliant new South African dramatic opus…it should be compulsory viewing…for every young South African.” - Artslink.co.za, May 2009
• “Five stars…without doubt, Van Graan’s best work to date”, Die Burger, March 2012

VENUE GRINDROD BANK THEATRE
TIMES SAT 1800; SUN 1000
DURATION 80 MINS
PRICE R145

 

 Callum’s Will, a beautiful, intimate story, takes the audience on an almost filmic experience as the unlikely relationship between two men evolves from an awkward first encounter to a deep and lasting friendship which neither expects or understands. Sometimes in life friendships choose us. People enter our lives for the wrong reasons but at exactly the right moment to save us from ourselves.

Set in London in the early nineties, the two characters come from completely different backgrounds. Callum is a man in his forties, an ex ballet dancer whose career was cut short by a tragic accident which has left him in a wheel chair. Disconnected from his friends and previous life, he is unable to cope and employs Will, an unlikely young man in his twenties from the wrong side of the track.

Will has grown up amidst unemployment and state benefits. Surrounded by friends who have accepted their lot in life, Will is not bereft of hopes and dreams: something his eccentric late mother left as a seed, is about to germinate.

The story takes the audience on a journey of laughter - and sometimes tears - but essentially full of hope as it offers a quiet window into the tiny intricacies of human behaviour which we never really get the opportunity to observe.
Callum’s Will was written by Janna Ramos-Violante and inspired by the accident which befell Darren King a few years earlier which, miraculously, did not leave him in a wheel chair. Janna directs and the piece is performed by Darren King and Clinton Small.

Review in Cue

VENUE MEM HALL
TIMES FRI 1830; SUN 1000
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R80

Delirium is a playful and pertinent allegory for the ethnic and nationalist divisions we see across the World. The action is set against the backdrop of invented lands at war where an elderly couple, played by the formidable David Dennis and Fiona Ramsay, hang onto a series of delusions as a means to survive against the insanity of borders that have been created by State and family. A guard arrives, played by Fezile Mpela, and a new boundary line is drawn over the middle of the couples bed, dividing their house into two countries. What follows is a series of farcical events resulting in a play that poignantly explores the absurdity of manmade boundaries and borders.

The play is written by the internationally acclaimed Chilean American novelist, playwright, and human rights activist, Ariel Dorfman whose most famous play, Death and the Maiden, was made into a film in 1994 by Roman Polanski and starred Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley. This staging of Delirium - Dorfman's newest play – will have its world-premiere at The Market Theatre in August as part of the Mail & Guardian Johannesburg Literary Festival.. Its premiere was made possible by funding from the Ford Foundation in New York.

The production's stellar cast is directed by Greg Homann who recently won two Standard Bank Ovation Awards at this year's National Arts Festival (Brothers in Blood and One-Woman Farce) and whose five-man version of The Pirates of Penzance was nominated for nine Naledi Awards this year, winning three, including Best Cutting Edge Ensemble.

VENUE MEM HALL
TIMES SAT 1000; SUN 1430
DURATION 90 MINS
PRICE R145

"Please don't kill my Mom!"

Ubejane! He smells the wind. Ubejane! He sees as if in the mist. Ubejane! He hears the air. Ubejane!
Nicholas Ellenbogen’s Horn of Sorrow is an extraordinary piece of physical theatre created in the mid 1980’s with a cast of imaginative and dynamic actors in a workshopped environment. It highlighted the plight of the rhino and the issue of poaching. Sadly, nothing could be more topical right now. The current production is directed by Brendan Grealy who was part of the original production.

The story is narrated by the comical Vulture who follows the fortunes of a baby rhino, called Tembalethu. He sees the game plan of poachers and local communities who see poaching as a means to earn money to feed their families. But what of the survival of this ancient beast, what of South Africa’s natural heritage, what of the fatal damage to the tourist industry?

Horn of Sorrow has an illustrious history. Public and critical acclaim, as well as countless performances world wide, have garnered it:

- a Grahamstown Pick of the Fringe Award;
- an FNB Vita Award for Best Playwright of the Year (Nicholas Ellenbogen);
- a Scotsman Pick of the Fringe Award at the Edinburgh Festival.

VENUE (See performance times)
TIMES SAT 1030 (BOMA); SAT 1730 (MEM HALL) ; SUN 11H00 (BOMA)
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R100

Under no circumstances whatsoever, if you are an adult, should you miss one of SA’s favourite comedians in his latest stand-up show!!!

The show features Lottering’s brand new material, where he expresses his unique views on a broad range of topics that tickle his fancy, ranging from Dog Whisperers, to his fascination with reality TV in South Africa.
Lottering will, of course, also explain exactly why it is that he refuses to work on Sundays. He adds, moreover, that his show is totally unsuitable for children or those who still think like children ....

Check out more info on what you might expect on www.marclottering.com or tweet him on @marclottering

VENUE MEM HALL
TIMES FRI 2030; SAT 2000
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R140

Remember Lolly Jackson? Teasers?? Brett Kebble??? Just asking ......!!!

First staged as Hostile Takeover by the Market Theatre on the National Arts Festival’s Main Programme in 2006, Just Business has been substantially rewritten but remains a scathing, provocative satire on the economic practices and associated morality of the “New South Africa”, with plenty of black humour and rapid-fire dialogue. It will entertain and provoke in equal measures!

The story is about Hannes van Wyk, a former employee in the National Party government’s Foreign Affairs Department who now runs a successful “girlie club” that provokes the interest of a BEE-conscious, Johnny Mabuso and his Chinese business partners. Van Wyk is not particularly interested in sharing ‘African Delights’ with anyone - African, Chinese or otherwise. This makes him the target of a hostile takeover, which is why a “removals company” is contracted....

Written by Mike van Graan, Artscape’s Associate Playwright, and directed by Fred Abrahamse, it features Andre Jacobs as Hannes van Wyk, Kurt Egelhof as Mr September and Mbulelo Grootboom as Johnny Mabuso.

The language is strong (the show is not recommended for those younger than 16 or for sensitive patrons), the humour is dark, the setting is a bit whacky, but the social commentary is as sharp as one would expect.

VENUE GRINDROD BANK THEATRE
TIMES FRI 1800; SAT 1230
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R130

Two best friends, dead end jobs, rugby, and some regular guy stuff.

Performed in English with minimal Afrikaans, …miskien is a simple story of two guys: best friends who are stuck in similar dead end jobs and nondescript lives, both waiting for Happy Hour at the end of each day to drag them into the next. It is a story that examines the spaces between people, and what we do, what we don’t do, what we say, and what we keep to ourselves when we want to fill these gaps.

It is a controversial, intimate and internationally-acclaimed play which received 5 star reviews at the Amsterdam Fringe in 2011 and full houses in Perth at Fringe World 2012. ...miskien then played to sold out houses at its final National Arts Festival run this year, and is preparing to travel to New York in 2013. In its fourth year of touring, ...miskien has played at festivals all over South Africa earning Pretorius, Lombard and Notcutt a string of awards and nominations, among them the Clover Soveel Beter Prize for Best Production at the Clover Aardklop Arts Festival in 2011, and a Best New Director Fleur du Cap in 2010

• “A simply superb piece of South African theatre” – Estelle Sinkins, The Witness
• “leaves one speechless and hardly daring to breathe” – Terri Dunbar-Curran, The Cape Times
• “Pretorius and Lombard are extraordinary actors” – Bruce Dennill, The Citizen

The performances of this production at the festival are thanks to the generosity of Tony Thoms, Lindi Drummond, Rod and Rosemary Draper and LTJ Travel.

VENUE SPAR DRAMA CENTRE
TIMES FRI 2000; SAT 1530
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R120

THE WITNESS FLAGSHIP PRODUCTION

This is not a kiddies birthday party!!!! The UK’s leading comic ventriloquist will astound and amaze you!

That Paul Zerdin should make his career in show biz is not surprising as he grew up in a theatrical family. When Paul was 10 years old he was given a puppet theatre. Hobby became obsession! “The real turning point,” he says, “was when I was given a book on ventriloquism by the legendary Ray Alan. By the time I hit my teens I was spending hours a day in front of the mirror learning to speak without moving my lips!”

Today, he is credited as being the man who made ventriloquism cool and he is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading ventriloquists. With a winning combination of charm, impeccable comic timing and continual audience interaction, Paul brings a variety of different characters to life: the cheeky pre-adolescent Sam, a belligerent old age pensioner Albert and a precocious Baby. Laughter and tears mingle throughout the audience.

He has performed at the Royal Variety Show and has numerous TV and stage credits to his name.

• “Every now and then you stumble across a finished article, a show so polished it shines. Paul Zerdin’s is one of these. A ventriloquist at the top of his game, Zerdin is so sure of his skills and so in control of his material that he isn’t just performing. 5 stars!” - The Scotsman
• “His puppets are sharp tongued, malicious little bastards. Avoid the front row, especially if you are ugly!” - The Guardian

To find out more about him and his characters, go to 

www.paulzerdin.com

 

VENUE   GRINDROD BANK  THEATRE
TIMES THURS 1800 Limited seats available); FRI 1100; SAT 1230 & 2030; SUN 1900
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R160

 

‘Rob van Vuuren – Live’ is the latest award winning stand-up comedy show written and performed by Rob van Vuuren who was, in 2011, once again identified by the Mail and Guardian as one of the 200 young South Africans you should take out to lunch. So yes ... he will accept free lunches.

2011 also saw Rob awarded the Breakthough Act Award at the inaugural Comics Choice Awards. Following the runaway success of the premiere of ‘Rob van Vuuren – Live!’ at the National Arts Festival the show walked away with the coveted Standard Bank Ovation Award for Comedy. Unfortunately there was no free lunch.

This stand up comedy show is an irreverent, honest and, above all, side-splittingly funny perspective on many of Rob’s favourite subjects which range from dogs, flies and Jehovah’s Witnesses to becoming a dad, adoption and giant mutant toenails.

Don’t miss this opportunity to catch the guy who shot to fame as the short half of the cult comedy duo Corne and Twakkie of the Most Amazing Show, (as well as the co-host of Crazy Games and SA’s Got Talent and the ou who Shucksed Shuster) do what he does best…make you laugh.

We regret there will be no free lunches!

• “Comic Genius” - Mail and Guardian
• “…engaging and very, very funny. ..a dynamic and winning storyteller. ..hilarious and touching… improvisational genius…warm, real, engaging and hysterically funny.” – The Witness
• “If Comedy had a God, Van Vuuren would be it” - Cue
• “That last one’s a bit much.” - Rob van Vuuren

VENUE SPAR DRAMA CENTRE
TIMES FRI 1800; SAT 1930
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R110

IN ENGLISH

This play is set in Berlin, 1945. The Third Reich has collapsed and the Russians are hours away. An SS logistics office has orders to question a young woman. Who is she? Someone who just wants to stay alive. But then so does he, and so does his commanding officer. The woman and the officer have a history. Does she know how to get out of Berlin safely and will she tell him if she does? What will persuade her to tell him if she does know how to escape? Sie Weiss Alles ... she knows everything ...

Sie Weiss Alles is written by James Cairns, performed by Cairns and Taryn Bennett and directed by Tamara Guhrs.

“.....an absolute gem of a script...nuanced, multi-layered and very, very clever… At once witty, clever and deeply disturbing, the play is a complex, beautifully crafted expression of human need…. Cairns will blow you away with his understated desperation….. Go and treat yourself to the best piece of new South African writing I’ve seen in a long time. Sie Weiss Alles is a tour de force of local talent.” The Next 48 Hours

ArtsLink Review

The performances of this production at the festival are thanks to the generosity of Tony Thoms, Lindi Drummond, Rod and Rosemary Draper and LTJ Travel.

VENUE MEM HALL
TIMES SAT 1500; SUN 1200
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R120

Mat is a successful photographer who has his life exactly how he likes it - ordered, neat, and beautifully composed - until the day his girlfriend tells him she is pregnant. In an attempt to process this disturbing information he goes out for a run. Straying from his regular route, he ventures into a strange part of the city where he makes a gruesome discovery that changes everything. This fast-paced story is infused with the kind of aggressive wit, acute observation, real suspense, imminent danger, selfish need and poignant humanity that are the basic elements of urban life in contemporary South Africa.

This one-man play, written by Nick Warren, directed by Jenine Collocott and performed by James Cuningham has garnered much praise.
“Unstoppable. Sharp, sassy script. Deftly directed.” – Diane De Beer, Start Tonight
“Virtually flawless performance.” – Steve Kretzmann, Artlink
“The funniest, most enriching and most rewarding show I saw at festival this year.” - Christina Kennedy
“This is not good. It is brilliant.” – Katharina von Ruckteschell (Goethe Institut Director)

Sunday Morning was presented as part of the Solo Season by the Grahamstown Festival as part of their Main Programme in 2012.  The development of Sunday Morning was funded by the Goethe Institut and produced for a short run in their Gallery space, Goethe on Main, in 2011.

VENUE SPAR DRAMA CENTRE
TIMES SAT 1300; SUN 1300
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R110

1949. The Hilton Ridge. A high-flying society hostess throws another of her ‘unmissable’ soirees…

Among her guests, a World War II colonel, a beautiful blonde sculptress and a visiting Shakespearean Professor, with a hidden agenda... And an impenetrable Hilton fog. What did the Village parson see, walking his beagle in the early hours…? What did the Village char discover the following morning…? Fleur de Lys diners are cordially invited to join young Michael Hastings, the Unlikely Detective, on his quest to unravel the secrets of this very strange case ….

The challenge is on to work out whodunit – how & why!

Paul and Annie are delighted to return to the beautifully atmospheric Fleur de Lys with their latest, gripping dinner mystery. You will be wined, dined and royally entertained! Annie Robinson - gifted comedienne and one of South Africa's most accomplished actresses; and Paul Spence - seven years with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and London.

VENUE FLEUR DE LYS
TIMES SAT 1200 & 1800; SUN 1200 & 1800; MON 1000
DURATION 3 HOURS INCL MEAL
PRICE R305

“Little Pig, Little Pig, let me in…”

Two good pigs are dead. The mutilated bodies of the brothers, decorated police officers both were both found in their respective homes on the same night as a savage and grizzly revenge crime. The prime suspect, a wolf, is still at large… and he wants the third little pig dead.

Fresh from sold out houses at the National Arts Festival, and preparing to travel to Perth, New York, London and Amsterdam in 2013, this is a taut psychological thriller set in a world where Animal Farm meets Reservoir Dogs and gives rise to a dark and unexpected take on the classic children’s story. A delightfully twisted collaboration between four multi award winning artists Tara Notcutt (…miskien, Mafeking Road), James Cairns (Dirt, Sie Weis Alles), Albert Pretorius (Messe in Henne, …miskien) and Rob van Vuuren (Rob van Vuuren - Live!, The Most Amazing Show), The Three Little Pigs is a riveting and subversive adaptation of an age-old tale. Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?

• “dark, brilliantly acted satire” – Estelle Sinkins, The Witness
• “a political thriller that surprises at every turn” – Steve Kretzmann, Artsblog

The performances of this production at the festival are thanks to the generosity of Tony Thoms, Lindi Drummond, Rod and Rosemary Draper and LTJ Travel.

VENUE MEM HALL
TIMES SAT 1230; SUN 1700
DURATION 60 MINS
PRICE R125

KickstArt presents the South African premiere of a sexy new play by theatrical mastermind, David Ives!

Venus in Fur is the sexiest, funniest, most acclaimed new Broadway play of the 2011-2012 season and is here directed by multi award winning Steven Stead. It introduces us to an unusually talented young actress called Vanda, who is determined to land the lead in celebrated  playwright Thomas' new play based on the classic erotic novel, Venus in Fur. Vanda's emotionally charged audition for the gifted but demanding playwright/director becomes an electrifying game of cat and mouse that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, seduction and power, love and sex. The dynamic and exciting Janna Ramos-Violante plays Vanda, and one of Durban’s greatest theatre talents, Neil Coppen, plays Thomas. This production is designed by Greg King with lighting design by Tina le Roux.

• “So sexy you could sweat” - Philadelphia Enquirer
• “Fantastically funny!” - New York Post

VENUE GRINDROD BANK THEATRE
TIMES SAT 1500; SUN 1300
DURATION 90 MINS
PRICE R150