Author: Rod Amner

DANCE: The story of fireBy ELEJHA-ZE GENGAN  On a cold winter evening, many gather under the starlit sky, waiting for a fire to be born. “Fire, fire, fire, warmth in the heart,” says performer Selah Joy as she brings the flames to life. Fire brings people together. The untamed energy draws us closer as it wraps us in safety and warmth. “Fire flirts with darkness,” says Joy.  In The Story of Fire, the fire-dancer takes us on a journey of self-discovery during times when everything felt cold and disconnected. She expresses the significance of fire in her life and how…

THEATRE: Julie Andrews UncutReview by JENNA KRETZMANN  Filling the shoes of a Dame can be a daunting task. Particularly when that person has filled the legendary roles of Mary Poppins, Fraulein Maria, and Queen Clarisse Renaldi. East Londoner, Alison Hillstead, takes the part of Dame Julie Andrews in her stride in Amanda Bothma’s Julie Andrews Uncut. However, the stride could be stronger.   The production casts an eye on the life of English actress, singer, and author Julie Andrews. Hillstead acts as a third-person narrator in charge of chronicling Andrews’s difficult upbringing, rise to fame, and the wobbles along the way.…

THEATRE: ÎleReview by DAVE MANN There is only the actor, the stage, and two wooden crates. It’s all the piece requires. In Île, Sophie Joans takes us from Cape Town to Mauritius through a series of humorous and incisive narrative accounts of her family, her heritage and the legacies of colonialism. It’s a hell of a play. Joans leads with a brief social and geographical history of Mauritius. Tectonic plates shift and grind, palm trees proliferate, dodos plod along happily (albeit briefly), and then a bunch of people show up, and the island becomes contested land. Somewhere in the latter part…

ART: We Regret to Inform You…Review by DAVE MANN Between my finger and my thumbThe squat pen rests.I’ll dig with it.Seamus Heaney There are tears by the time Wezile Harmans finishes his performance. Left in the room with the artist’s collection of envelopes and words, it takes a moment for the audience to gather themselves and go. In Harmans’ solo exhibition at the National Arts Festival, the artist uses a singularly devastating sentence as a conceptual point of departure: We Regret to Inform You… It’s a line known by dejected job applicants across the globe. In South Africa, where unemployment affects…

PERFORMANCE ART: 12 LaboursReview by STEVE KRETZMANN, Cue arts editor and The Critter editor In rainbow stockings and severe glittering stilettos, a thick notebook clutched under his arm, Gavin Krastin, this year’s Standard Bank Young Artist of the year (we better name the bank or next thing, they’ll pull their funding for these awards, too) for performance art towers before us like an eccentric androgynous aunty about to address a Rotary Club meeting. Except he’s also wearing blue construction worker’s pants and jacket with the reflective strips, over which is a corset-like brace around his waist. And a blue gnome’s…

PHYSICAL THEATRE: SwaRinganaReview by NONJABULO NTULI Sikhuthali Oliver Bonga’s SwaRingana kept his audience captivated and engaged, leaving them smiling from ear to ear. It’s one of the best one-person shows I’ve ever experienced. Sikhuthali uses theatre to deal with grief. Sound heavy, yeah? Well, it isn’t as sad as it may sound. From the outset, Sikhuthali reassured us this would not be a painful experience. Sikhuthali’s alter ego (his acting self) uses ‘Poor Theatre’, a term coined by Grotowski, a Polish theatre director and theorist. Poor Theatre uses minimal props and costumes and focuses on the physical skill of the…

MUSIC: FragmentsReview by MZWANDILE MAMAILA  Social media is ever-present and has changed the way we live. We become reliant on our likes and followers for self-esteem and social influence. More likes equal more respect. That is the dystopia contemporary society faces, and poet Lethabo Makweya, accompanied by the violin, flute, and jazz trio,  reflect on this state of affairs in Fragments.   An all-black aesthetic sets the mood. “I was told I look better on the screen!” Makweya shouts as she takes selfies and videos, texts and calls, and stalks the lives of others. This is the new normal, a…

THEATRE: MatchboxReview by ARNO CORNELISSEN “It won’t collapse, right? … I can see my life flashing before my eyes,” two audience members commented jeeringly on the seating as they filed into St Andrew’s Hall. Don’t fret. The seating is perfectly safe, but be sure to brace yourself for the flood of madness and emotion that comes from What do you think the birds are doing?, the first act of the double bill Matchbox.  Delara Crouse and Jamie-Lee Anthony, the cast of ‘What do you think the birds are doing?’. Photo: Supplied Seated, you can see the setup of the set made from…

DANCE: I.N.C.O.K.OReview by GRACE MOYA We’ve all been there. If you’ve taken public transport, stood in a crowded café, or just been around strangers, the chances are high that you’ve eavesdropped on an interesting or random conversation. These floating exchanges in public spaces can either be indistinct or disconnected. Some of them set in motion a haunting feeling of déjà vu, making us reflect on the self and past experiences encountered. I.N.C.O.K.O is a dance production directed by Thembani Buka, a local choreographer and creative director born and bred in Makhanda. This is a young production, performers in their early…

DANCE: Nakanjani Theatre Productions Review by ZIMKITA LINYANA As a human race, we have developed common aspirations. To be in line with the mainstream, to ‘get with the program’, and ‘to be with it’. We have become universal in our modernity and everyday cultural ‘norms’. Although this is important and somewhat necessary, we should not forget we are a diverse people. We can all share ideals and values, but we must preserve, celebrate, and embrace our cultural diversity.  The opening scene of the more than 50 scenes – all under one hour. Photo: Zimkita Linyana My mind and senses were blown…