How do you write this? You have to be clever... Pause Nothing to be done. Related posts:The Beckett Trilogy Fest Forward’s 2nd podcast Ous, say howzit to the shortest morning of your life!

Review: Man up a Tree By Dion van Niekerk How disappointing. And it breaks my heart to have to say that about an Ellis Pearson show, because Pearson has been one of the cornerstones of the Festival since I can remember. His work has always been professional, engaging, fun and thought provoking. But Man up a Tree is lacking on all those fronts. Even though it was street theatre and therefore free, I still felt robbed. There was a time when Pearson would stretch his imagination to breaking point trying to find just the right story or theatrical image to convey his concerns with the South African condition. His was never the role of preacher, but rather of story-teller, and it was the excited ...

By Dion van Niekerk This is what I like to see on stage – humility, honesty and an acute awareness of one’s craft and skill. I and others from Grahamstown remember Lucy Hind as a student and young performer way back when. She was a talented dancer with excellent technical skill. We were proud to stand on the shores and wave her on as she sailed off to find her place in the world. In this show, Extra-ordinary, she returns to town to report back on the journey she has taken. It has clearly been a journey of bittersweet self-discovery. Lucy has had the joy of meeting her one-time hero, and had the disappointment of discovering her hero to be flawed. But beyond that ...

Mime, masks, no words, a funny little set. As long as you've got talented mimes you could throw almost anything into that and make a play that'll appeal to a certain audience. Like, how about we try having two main characters who are in…a butcher shop (lots of opportunity for macabre situations). One character’s parents have died tragically and he drowns his sorrows in alcohol. The other character looks after him, keeps things together. Ok. Let’s throw in…a baby. Yes! The alcoholic won’t like it at first but he’ll be won over as we all predictably are. But the baby was dumped by a kidnapper and he wants it back. And there’s meat cleavers and mincing machines close at hand…murder is ...

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 ...

Go watch White Wedding. It’s smart and it’s sweet, and when an audience streams out of a theatre with goofy smiles humming Brenda Fassie you know it’s a winner. People were genuinely delighted. more_link_text Related posts:Lost in Long Street Extra bark to that bite Swans (with photos)

Stephen Stead’s staging of Wit is probably the best play I have ever seen. The only other which vies for the title is Untitled, last year’s festival stunner put on by Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner Jaco Bouwer. But that was a very different kind of play. more_link_text Related posts:A superbly cutting Victorian bitch It’s a fine arts day! Open up your heart. The subtlety of a sledgehammer

The black and white theme runs through the entire production of PJ Sabbagha’s Zebra. The title, the use of barred lighting, the costumes, even the floor on which they dance is striped in black and white. Of course, in a South African context, this is heavily loaded and I tried hard, but it was difficult to see the dance without looking at it in terms of racial dynamics. It wasn’t made any easier by the fact that the opening scene is a black guy trying to greet a white guy, but being ignored. His friendly overtures soon become more aggressive and the dance begins. Although the dance moved into obscurer territory and (in the words of the programme - I won't pretend ...

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

The unreserved standing ovation from the packed Victoria Theatre was like watching a rolling mass action of spontaneous joy. And Mâ Ravan’ deserved every single handclap.   It is a wonderful, wonderful theatrical achievement, an exquisite pleasure to watch.   The cast of four dancers who hail from the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, Réunion and Madagascar, enact a homage and ritual to the ancestors who were wrested from their families and homelands, and sold as slaves.   The dancers are breathtakingly superb, with bodies that had all the young women in the row behind me making appreciative exclamations, until eventually Andrew Buckland – who was sitting next to me and was equally spellbound – politely asked them to shut up. more_link_text Related posts:Carmen: Simply superb! It’s a ...