Review by Dion van Niekerk If you’re looking for theatre with bite, you absolutely must see Breed. This is Ubom! doing what they do so well, creating ensemble work, telling original South African stories and enthusing the stage with the energy of performers who clearly love what they’re doing. All that and an irresistible Janet and Andrew Buckland partnership adding extra bark to that bite. Breed’s plot and themes are not uncommon in contemporary South African theatre. A longing for reconciliation born out of personal loss and grief is also at the heart of, say, Karoo Moose. And, like Karoo Moose, the central metaphor is a beastly one that points towards an inarticulable animal rage that, if loosened, has the potential to ...

The best parts of NATV Live in Grahamstown are the unscripted bits. When in singing a festival version of that Christmas classic A Partridge in a Pear Tree, these four good-looking funny chaps from Durban forget when, or who, is to pop up to sing one of the growing litany of lines. And when their screen collapses. Their recovery from all this true farce was hilarious.  Oh, and their line in the adapted song: 'Stef (the hypnotist) scored my mom'. Directed by Ben Voss, NATV is essentially a series of skits using a live tv show as a platform and raises a lot of laughter from the audience, which is its aim of course. The satire is light and the comedy ...

Oh, I wish I had not read Robyn Sassen's review of Boston Marriage this morning. It raised expectations you see. When a reviewer like Sassen gives a play an "unequivocal ten out ten", how can it be helped? I admit I expected too much. I expected a lot anyway. This is, after all the director Stephen Stead who gave us Wit last year, combined with the lead actor of that shining example of theatrical brilliance, Claire Mortimer. After having my heart ripped out and torn into pieces last year, I was hoping they could put it back together again now. It's been awhile. They did, although it's not quite as full as it might have been had Sassen not got to the ...

It’s been niggling at the back of my mind for the last two festivals or so, and it seems to be a developing phenomenon: a nonchalant approach to stagecraft. Thinking of theatre seen over the last two decades odd, there is an underlying sense of tightly controlled staging, a certain rigidity regarding the basic rules of putting on a show. If you’re doing mime you stick to mime and innovate within it. Likewise puppetry, likewise drama, stand-up, dance, and so on. But there seems to be a new breed of theatre makers – the insouciants. They’re young, but they’re not by any means new to the game. They are hitting their creative stride and they know their craft. They were taught by masters ...

If there was a World Cup of performing artists, James Cairns would be Wayne Rooney. His ability to dribble a narrative through the vagaries of ten characters, and then shoot the story into closure without you second-guessing the play equals, in fact probably surpasses, the fancy footwork and game-making abilities of his northern football counterpart. more_link_text Related posts:JC le Rad Double-feature win Barking up the wrong tree

In 11 years of festival going I’ve never attended a hypnotist show – it hasn’t been high on my list of things to see, you see. But last night I got shanghaied into the Bowling Club by my blogging partner in crime who was determined to be there to ensure neither of his teen daughters volunteered to hand their souls over to Dr Stef Miracle hypnotist and become the butt of an extended bad joke. more_link_text Related posts:‘Stef scored my mom’ Long live the dead Queen (+ pics) Fest Forward Episode 10 days of Amazing

Artsblog lured comic genius Rob van Vuuren to their backyard sweatshop and had a conversation over a cup of tea, getting Rob to speak about what it was like to win Strictly Come Dancing, his recent tour in France, the state of South African theatre, the struggle for money and what it’s like being a TV celeb. He uses the word ‘rad’ a lot and does swear a bit – he does do standup comedy after all.   more_link_text Related posts:You wanna know what to see? Audio: Fest Focus interview with Mlu Zondi Carmen: Simply superb!

 James Phillips was adamant we should pelt cover artists with vrot  tomatoes.   Booze, rock n roll and the dirt road from Riebeek East to Festival conspired to rob us of a great South African performing artist whose originality was mesmerising. In 1995, the year "Bernoldus Niemand" died from head injuries sustained when he skidded, over-corrected and rolled his car (his driving skills were paltry in comparison to his composing and performance talents), I took on Stef the hypnotist and clown on Fiddlers (he was handing out flyers) and told him I was sceptical about his artistic contribution to the National Arts Festival. more_link_text Related posts:Magic. In a particular time, in a particular place Comments by Sheena Stannard ‘Amazing…for a dead guy’

Warmth and a lack of fresh air is a sure-fire way to promote sleep. And this is unfortunately what happens in Mike van Graan’s Bafana Republic 3: Penalty Shootout.   This is no fault of the fast-moving, witty and colourful piece of satire in which Lungi Pinda stars. The jokes are sharp and Pinda is a ball of comedic energy putting his talent through a number of characters, such as a hygiene engineer (toilet cleaner) at the OR Tambo airport, and a sleazy estate agent trying to sell the Greenpoint soccer stadium.   more_link_text Related posts:Bring on the insouciants Carmen: Simply superb! The best part of your day will be…

Rumpsteak was enjoyable and quite funny, but I couldn’t understand the parts of it that were in French, so for me it lost some of its humour. The music was excellent and the sound effects were good, but the show lacked that extra oomph – you know, the thing that makes it brilliant. - Review by Rosa-Karoo, 14 Rumpsteak is directed by Rob van Vuuren, and written and performed by Gaetan Schmid. Showing daily at 10 am at Princess Alice Related posts:You wanna know what to see? Double-feature win Wombtide is funny, dark and redemptive