By Brianna Msiza
Attending The HA! Show was easily one of the most fascinating things I have done all year. Francois le Roux — The Ha! Man — is a composer who creates music as he plays. Barefoot and casually dressed in black shirt and jeans, he took the Acoustic Café audience on an emotionally charged journey last Sunday through a sonically rich performance.
Switching between different instruments, mainly the cello, piano and flute, Le Roux offered deep, moody tones, hopeful tunes and a jaunty number that made one sway along with him.
The only thing more riveting than the show itself, is its history. The HA! Show has been decades in the making. Le Roux said the idea for The HA! Show started taking shape in the 90s when his acoustic performance had the same spontaneous elements it has today, but it had no name nor any accompaniments. Those only came along in the 2000s in the form of prerecorded tracks, or various sounds he makes himself.
The HA! Show is not conventionally structured but it is not entirely random either. During an interview, Le Roux described it as a narrative, with familiar story elements such as character-building and tension. yet multiple possible courses of action. These possibilities carry the show’s exploratory air. “You become a bit of a child again, you get creative,” he said. At one point, Le Roux enthralled the audience with a dance, using only a red, diaphanous scarf as his prop. Yet this sudden turn in the programme was not out of place.
The atmosphere in the café was relaxed, with an audience consisting of close friends, a fan who first saw the show last year and three newcomers — one of which was me. The experience was warm and personal, echoing Le Roux’s preference for the intimacy found with “smaller groups where the energy is more focused”. Naledi Tae, one of the Ha! Man first-timers, said, “The music took me places as I was listening. With each instrument he played, I was transfixed.”
It came as a shock to notice that everyone was completely present. Zero phones were checked the entire time, which is truly a marvel. It was this feeling of being present that lets me know I will be attending return performances for as long as I am in Makhanda.
