By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla “Have you ever felt the inside of a tap?” – who knew one expression could leave such a lasting impression on an audience. Although 2Lovers feels similar to many romance stories, Naledi Award-winner, Craig Morris, and his production team do an excellent job at crafting new angles through the characters of Annabel (Tessa Jubber) and Dave (Ter Hollmann). The show begins with a recently divorced Annabel bumping into Dave, the ex-husband. This is the first time they have seen each other in three years – if you exclude the time Annabel caught Dave stalking her. From here,…
Author: Cue 2023
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By David Mann Linda Sikhakhane is taking off. It seems we have caught him at just the right time. The KZN-born saxophonist is abroad so often these days – both gigging and studying – that seeing him perform on South African soil feels like a rare opportunity. In Illadi: A Thanksgiving Meditation In Two Movements, Sikakhane presents his musical offering as this year’s Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz. Iladi is an exploration of Sikhakhane’s relationship to sound and its links to his Nguni culture and traditions. Moreover, it’s “a meditation for reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness through…
By Anoka Latchmiah Cape Town’s renowned theatre company, Baked Shakespeare takes centre stage at the National Arts Festival, captivating audiences with their memorable approach to classical theatre. The group of highly trained professional actors are making waves in the theatrical world, offering a one-of-a-kind experience that fuses the timeless works of Shakespeare with the exhilarating effects of cannabis. Following their debut Festival performance of As You Like It on Tuesday night, the cast was thrilled by the audience’s enthusiastic response and felt that their innovative concept was well-received. The energy in the room was palpable, with laughter, applause, and infectious…
By Anga-Anganda Bushwana “It’s open to all kinds of practitioners,” states the Festival programme description for the creative workshop held by legendary singer-songwriter, Asanda Lusaseni Mvana (known professionally as Msaki). And that’s just what it is; a workshop for all. Msaki starts with the humble introduction, “Hello everyone, my name is Asanda”. It is her down-to-earth character, the traditional African food of uLusu and umngqusho that she prepares for all participants, the calming presence of her Sangoma (Makhosi KHYNSA), and her taking the time to get to know each one of us by name, that set the tone for the…
By Benny Mojela “Why is this happening? Should we keep walking until we cannot walk? Does it feel good to be an African, Thabo?’’ asks the tenacious voice about the Black families’ condition of disadvantage brought on by the racial and economic divide in South Africa. As I sit in the theatre, mellow music echoes throughout the theatre, and my eyes are greeted by a dim stage with an empty kitchen. Though not glamorous, it is neatly ordered with a table and chair. From the onset, This Is Us (Ke Rona) brings to light the glaring social inequality faced by…
By Robin Crigler Is there anything fundamentally more Capetonian than living off the grid in a caravan 90 minutes outside the city? That’s National Arts Festival veteran Ambrose Uren’s life, and in the course of his hour-long one-man show African-ish, we learn about it from many different angles. Forgoing a warm-up act, Uren bursts in dancing to a Johnny Clegg-style song. When the audio starts to skip like a damaged CD and throws off his rhythm, it doesn’t take the audience long to grasp the metaphor he’s going for. From then on, the ride really begins. Uren touches on his…
By Benny Mojela Jazz is a central component to the life and soul of the National Arts Festival (NAF). A large part of that fervour are the personalities that make up the programme. A highlight of this year’s Jazz fest, is the guitarist, Mageshen Naidoo who, together with Eva Kess, Kyle du Preez and Sphelelo Mazibuko, bring you KEMiStry. Originally hailing from Chatsworth, Naidoo has performed across the globe, only to return to the NAF stage this year to dazzle audiences. Cue sat down with the acclaimed musician to discuss his music, influences, and experience working and studying in the…
By Bukamuso Sebata Walking down Somerset, with its collection of coffee shops and craft stalls, it might be easy to miss the Rhodes School of Fine Art, home to various exhibitions at this year’s Festival. Inside, exhibitions range from mixed media works grappling with mental health in novel ways, to thoughtful engagements with history and identity through photography and raw materials. The below three bodies of work stand out. It’s an African Proverb, a Biomythography If you’re looking for an exhibition that seamlessly blends the human psyche with African oral traditions, then It’s an African Proverb, a Biomythography by N’lamwai…
By Gavin Gaka Mora begins in startling fashion as a woman goes off in a heated monologue, berating men with terms such as: “Men are dogs”, “Men deserve nothing”, and “Men are useless”. The play, written by Bongani Ntshingila, seeks to analse the place of men in society, while holding the complexities of contemporary masculinity, including its pitfalls. Crucially, Mora looks at the reality of men who are physically, emotionally, and mentally abused, and the factors that contribute to them not speaking out about this. Love becomes a crucial factor, specifically the absence of love in relationships between men and…
By Fahdia Msaka Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder. May the same be said about the truth? Fake news is an all too-familiar concept following the COVID-19 pandemic. We see the spread of misinformation daily, but the ability to distinguish between real and fake is increasingly more difficult. Produced by Nelisiwe Xaba and Mocke J van Veuren, Fake N.E.W.S begins with the only dialogue we hear in the production. After which it is purely a work of dance and movement. There are three news anchors replicating the standard South African news broadcast. The reporting team…