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Review: Sadako Jaqueline Dommisse snuck me in to the first performance of her show Sadako, since I could not get a media ticket and it was sold out! Sadako was written by Peter Hayes, directed by Jaqueline with a cast of amazing puppeteer/actors and designed by Ilke Louw. I saw the original Sadako many moons ago at The Baxter Studio, and I was surprized at how much of it I remembered. It is the heart wrenching tale of Sadako, who eight or so years after the atom bombing of Hiroshima, gets ‘bomb sickness’, leukemia. Eina. This production is newer, bigger, better and sadder. All the puppeteers are amazing; but special mention must be made of Roshina Ratnam (Sadako) and Mark Hoeben (who plays ...

Review: Death of a Colonialist While it's really difficult remembering everything I thought about the last three things I saw at the festival, I think I must try and write bout them; after all, that's why I went in the first place. From the comfort of my own bed, in my own home though, things do look a little different. The first of the last three shows I saw was Death of a Colonialist. This was a Market Theatre production directed by Craig Friemond and script by Greg Latter. I had very high expectations for this show; my gorgeous sister-in-law had highly recommended it after seeing it in Jozi. In fact, I even stayed at the fest an extra day to include ...

A ragged mix of media and artists dragged themselves to the Monument restaurant at 10am on this, the last day of an 11-day orgy of creativity, despair, love and loss, to hear who won the silver and gold ovation awards. Only 11 days, but feels like that Thursday June 30 is already a short lifetime away. I was told about ‘the festival minute’ a few days ago, apparently founder of the most prestigious fringe venue at the Edinburgh fest, Christopher Richardson, licked his pencil and did some calculations to announce that during festival time, what you get done in one minute would normally take you seven. While my attempts to verify this on the interwebs are not yielding anything straight up, it ...

In amongst the brilliant theatre, scintillating jazz, robust conversations, late smoky nights and chance meetings, there is always one magic moment during festival that shines the brightest amongst a galaxy of stars. I found my magic moment last night in a bar behind an old stone wall at the top end of High Street. Apparently it used to be Maxwell’s but is now called the Grotto. There under an open-sided festival tent, were a foursome of Grahamstown locals, joined by the incredible Greg Georgiades and Ashish Joshi, belting out the most rocking blues I can recall every having being flung around by. The last time I experienced anything close to the absolute driving brilliance of this bunch of guys was when Dan Patlansky ...

Review: Sadako Sjoe! It is possible that had I seen Sadako during any other time of the year, after a day at the office dealing with hard news, for instance, I might , just might, have said the play was a sentimental tear-jerker with puppets. That wasn’t the case tonight. I went to see their premier at the Rhodes Box and, it got me. It got me good. I shuffled out there skaamly with wet cheeks. I wasn’t the only one, it seemed at least half the full house - who gave them a standing ovation - were also awash with emotion. Cape Town based Hearts and Eyes Theatre Collective use the most incredibly expressive puppets designed by Janni Younge to tell the story ...

Review: Kardiavale I loved this show, from the opening moment when Rob Murray puts his freak on with his Tom Waits growl to the lights going down on Liezl de Kock’s fluttering heart. The character of Oskar the despairing alcoholic freak-show ringleader is made for Murray, and de Kock perfectly plays the naïve orphan with her vulnerable heart beating outside her chest. It is so nice to see de Kock, who acts in FTH:K’s mask work, speaking. The script is tight, sharp and funny, the set is original and quirky but unfussy, and the music and soundtrack is played live by two Shaun Acker and Brydon Bolton to one side of the stage. They art partly hidden but at the same time integrated ...

The Fusion food okes from PE are back outside Princess Alice making wonderful seafood. And the Cape Town Edge production of theatre sports which has taken the place of the injured Trent Nightigale's Nic show is apparently superb. A Grahamstown friend tells me over 80 people had an hilarious time watching great SA actors performing. Related posts:Tribute to Pastor Newman Bauke Snyman reviews ‘High Diving’. It’s seamless, divine magic Crash victim’s show is replaced — reveals the power of the collective

Every festival day another day in paradise? Oh yes, oh nooo. Urrrrr. Late night. Best handle on the polycephalic monster (yoh, did I just say many-headed?), oh effit, I need more effort this morning. more_link_text Related posts:Table dancing techies Ovations Run tech run

Review: Sie Weiss Alles James Cairns and Taryn Bennet in a script written by James. It is no secret that I am head over heels with James Cairns as a performer. I won't miss anything he does. (Dirt is one of three shows at the festival that I would be prepared to see again.) I also think that Taryn is gorgeous. So it was a no-brainer that I would enjoy their performances but, I must confess, I was dubious about the subject matter. A German SS officer interrogating an actress (who he had known previously) just before the Russians arrive. I have sort of done with this period in history, and I don't really ...

Review: Lovaffair Back in 2009, I was living – temporarily – in Germany. I craved theatre. Good theatre. A friend suggested taking me to see an adaptation of Jason and the Golden Fleece. The only catch? It was all in German. I went anyway. It was the most incredible performance I have ever seen. Weaving a successful narrative is not just about what is said. By freeing oneself from the constraints of following every single word, one has a chance to read the actors’ bodies, the subtle signs of the staging far more attentively. There is an inherent value in learning to look again, look differently. What is disability but a difference in body language? What is different body language but an ...