Theatre Review: Rocky Horror Show

Still one of my favourite off the wall musicals, this reincarnation of The Rocky Horror Show doesn’t disappoint, and it even turns the raunchiness, mayhem and giggles up a couple notches. It has been 40 years since the production opened for the first time but the themes of blossoming sexuality, lust, betrayal, sexual identity and anti-establishment are still relevant today. Toss in a good dollop of writer Richard O’Brien’s fascination with science fiction and B Horror movies, an excellent and passionate cast and wicked stage and lighting design, and you are in for one helluva fabulous rollercoaster ride.

The costumes are deliciously saucy and you can see designer Penny Simpson was having a blast. Apart from a wickedly funny story line and some unforgettable characters, the music, for me, is what truly sets this piece of theatre apart.  And every self-respecting Rocky fan was singing along. With such a large talented cast and crew it seems unfair to single anyone out but I am going to have to admit that Andrew Laubscher’s Riff Raff looked fantastic and he simply became his eccentric character. Jenny Stead makes a perfect Janet – with the original Janet, Susan Sarandon, as role model – it can’t be easy. For me however there can only be one Frank-N-Furter and Tim Curry’s is a tough act to follow. I would recommend getting a bunch of your best mates together, dress up – do it! – it’s so much more fun, and get your audience participation packet for a hilariously sexy night out.

The all South African cast includes Paul du Toit as Brad, Jenny Stead as Janet, Pierre Van Heerden as Dr. Scott & Eddie, Brendan Van Rhyn as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Andrew Laubscher as Riff Raff, Daneel Van Der Walt as Magenta, Lucy Tops as the Usherette, Dominique as Columbia, newcomer Shaun Smit as Rocky and Adrian Galley as The Narrator.  Jenna Robinson Child, Angela Inglis, Zolani Shangase and Tarquinn Whitebooi are the ensemble and understudy cast.

The production is directed by Fleur Du Cap Best Director Nominee Matthew Wild Designers on the production are Tina Driedijk and Penny Simpson with Musical Supervision by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder Musical Direction by Stefan Lombard who will be assisted by Roelof Coelyn. Choreography is by Louisa Talbot and High School Musical, soloist for The Cape Dance Company and Bovim Ballet. Alex Tops is the Resident Director.

On at The Fugard Theatre.

Astrid Stark

Theatre Review: Solomon and Marion

High EQ

Dame Janet Suzman is great. It is to be expected. But newbie Khayalethu Anthony threatens to steal her thunder in this beautifully written play. Lara Foot, writer of

Solomon and Marion, drew her inspiration for this accomplished work from the social and political situation in South Africa, and in particular the brutal murder of actor Brett Goldin, and his mother’s response to the tragedy.

Suzman is a mother who has lost her son to violence and her daughter to emigration; not an uncommon situation in this country. She is wrapped up in her misery until she meets the young Solomon (Khayalethu Anthony) and together they embark on an emotional journey to truth, acceptance, forgiveness and eventual release. The emotions are raw and it is not exactly a happy story but through Foot’s words and Suzman and Solomon’s superb acting it is brought to life beautifully and it is utterly mesmerizing.

Suzman’s extremely experienced and calculated acting is neatly balanced by Solomon’s youthful, slightly dangerous, honest acting. The weight of the play feels just right between these two.  Twenty-six-year-old Khayalethu Anthony made his mainstream theatre debut with this production in the role of the young Solomon. He was nominated for Best Script Writer at the Baxter’s 2011 Zabalaza Theatre Festival where he wrote and directed Inqwithelo Zemimoya, performed in isiXhosa.

“I started googling the name Janet Suzman just after I heard that I got the role. I felt like I have a mountain to climb. She is a world-class actress with an incredible performance reputation. To share the same stage with one of the finest actors in the world is more than a privilege for me; it is more than an honour. It just simply is the best thing that has happened to me in my life.”- Anthony.

Despite his feelings, Khayalethu Anthony seemed comfortable and confident sharing a stage with one of our country’s leading actresses.

Patric Curtis’ design is sumptuous and detailed – gorgeous. And Mannie Manim’s lighting adds ambience to the stage.

One not to miss.

Runs only until Solomon and Marion runs 20 July at The Baxter Golden Arrow Studio. 7pm and booking is through Computicket on 0861 915 8000, on-line at www.computicket.co.za or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet countrywide

What good is sitting alone in your chair?

Sexy, dirty, malicious, gentle, conniving, beautiful and tragically flawed almost sums up the complex personalities in this flirty production with a big heart.

I have always enjoyed Kander and Ebb’s music and lyrics, but it’s the storyline that still fascinates me after all these years.

At Berlin’s bohemian Kit Kat Club the opportunistic performers find it never too late in the evening to turn a trick and make a buck. They girls are saucy and the men sleek and sly as the Emcee shrieks, “the audience is beautiful. Even the orchestra is beautiful!” The champagne and money flows and the nights are silky and sensual. The music is loud. Life is great. But something is very wrong. The Weimar Republic is crumbling. The Nazi movement is bubbling up like a stinking mud that will eventually swallow all their hopes and dreams. A couple’s long-awaited love is ripped apart. A girl falls from grace and a writer’s fantasies lies in tatters.  Sounds a bit heavy but it’s mostly fun and games.

Samantha Peo is the beautiful boozy Kit Kat Club singer, Sally Bowles, who falls in and out of mens’ beds as she nurtures her fear of her fading looks in a world where it is truly everything to a working girl. Peo is grace and tragedy personified and she is perfect for this role. She portrays Bowles’ multi-faceted character skilfully. And she can sing.

I last saw her in the production of Chicago for which she won a Naledi. She is a skilled performer and singer. Her beautiful figure and face is utilised to its fullest glory by costume designer, Neil Stuart-Harris. Her outfit changes are plentiful and each one more rich and silky and gorgeous to look at. In fact the entire cast looks delicious in satin, blood-red silks, black lace, virginal white bloomers, and lots of leather and straps and stockings.

All except for Bryan Hiles, Clifford Bradshaw, the hapless writer is dressed in a dull as dishwater suit describing his character’s state of mind and position in life. He is poor, shy and nervous, until he meets the characters of the Cabaret.  Hiles’ performance is great and he brings a bit of stability to Peo’s outrageous character, but not for long.

The Emcee is all leather and whips, oozing sexuality, leery sneers and cynicism: wonderfully portrayed by Sascha Halbhuber.

The sub-plot involving a love affair between Fräulein Schneider, Charon Williams-Ros, an older woman who runs the boarding house that Cliff and Sally live in, and Herr Schultz, Peter Court, an elderly Jewish fruit shop owner, threatens to steal the limelight, this despite their minor roles and far more subdued characters. Both portray the doomed relationship with heartbreaking honesty.  Court’s, It Couldn’t Please Me More, or as I call it, The Pineapple Song, is so utterly charming in that lovely gentlemanly way of long ago.  Williams-Ros too has a beautiful voice.

Lyle Buxton as the German, who later reveals himself as a wicked Nazi, is very engaging and a reminder of how charismatic the Nazi’s were in order to convince the country that they only want what is best for all. And he can sing!

Kate Normington as the conniving but cute prostitute that loves to tease Fräulein Schneider is fun to watch.

The song-and-dance routine with a girl in a gorilla suit, If You Could See Her.’ is funny and touching as it concludes with a strong message, ‘if you could see her through my eyes… she wouldn’t look Jewish at all’.

Then there is the dirty, sexy, raunchy Kit Kat girls whom you just can’t take your eyes from.

And the live orchestra truly is just the cherry on top of a rambunctious and highly entertaining show.

A criticism would be that at times the cast were perhaps directed, or felt influenced, to turn up the snarls and ugly side of their personalities. At times this leads to peculiar and ugly sneers that continue for just a little too long. It is understandable that this is done to reveal the ugliness lurking beneath the surface, however this at times feels overly exploited, and over the top. Even when Peo sang the much-awaited Cabaret, it felt just a little over-dramatised.

The final rendition of Willkommen is loud and wonderful and despite it being quite a long production I felt reluctant to leave the seedy underbelly of the Kit Kat Club.  I highly recommend this if you need a break from reality and if you’re in the mood for a spectacularly entertaining visual and aural extravaganza.

Bookings are through  www.computicket.com.

CABARET, Directed by Steven Stead. Musical Direction by Evan Roberts and Justin Southey. Set Design by Greg King. Costume Design by Neil Stuart-Harris. Choreography by Janine Bennewith. Lighting Design by Tina le Roux. Sound by Mark Malherbe. Starring Sascha Halbhuber, Bryan Hiles, Samantha Peo, Charon Williams-Ros, Peter Court, Lyle Buxton, Kate Normington, Duane Alexander, Reg Hart and Malan le Roux. Marleé van de Merwe, Jodie Renouf, Londiwe Dhlomo, Suzzi Swannepoel and Carmen Pretorius. At Theatre on the bay until 23 September or 6 October at varied times.   Review by ASTRID STARK

How to make a Water Cooler Cry. Theatre review.

Listen with your eyes.

I never thought a story about office politics could bring a big lump to my throat. But then again, when last have I seen a FTH:K production? Too long ago, obviously, since I have just about forgotten what magic they weave without words.

I left the formal office environment years ago exactly because of the tale Office BLOCK has to tell, only to discover that the ‘office’ as FTH:K enacts it, is in many ways a metaphor for life.

In this clever production four office workers trample all over each other, and ultimately betray themselves, along the scramble up the corporate ladder. It is ugly and messy but beautifully dispersed by moments of tenderness and gentle humour. And it is all conveyed without spoken words. Miming, dancing, clever stage choreography and set pieces tell the story. Marlon Snyders, Christopher Beukes, Sinethemba Mgebisa and Asanda Rilityana all deliver passionate and memorable performances as the ‘grey’ office workers. The originality of their approach and performances are so refreshing, Jayne Batzofin’s clever set design becomes a character in the play that energetically moves the action forward. The soundscape is magical and transformative. Office BLOCK is a reminder of why visual theatre company FTH:K, producers of  shows such as Womb Tide, QUACK! and GUMBO, won the 2011 Fleur du Cap Award for Innovation in Theatre.

Worth a visit even if you just want to see a water cooler weep.

 

ps: I really think this review captured it well: http://www.yoursoapbox.co.za/show/officeblock-2/

 

FTH:K is a young, independent theatre company whose non-verbal, visual theatre integrates the deaf and hearing communities,

On at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio until 21 July.  Bookings can be made at Computicket 0861 915 8000

Pieter Dirk-Uys

Pieter-Dirk Uys is the kink in our koeksister. He is the sorghum in our umqombothi beer, and he is as entrenched in our history as a well-soaked rooibos teabag in a tin pot.

I simply can’t do without my dose of giggles from the master of South African political satire. This time around Uys has dusted off some of his characters from his Adapt or Dye performance from 30-years ago. Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout makes a brief appearance, as does Pik Botha, the funny Nowell-I am not a racist – Fine, and of course Madiba. He’s also added the new players on our political stage. The beleaguered ex-ANC youth league leader, the dancing president, and Thabo Mbeki, all get a poke with his sharp tongue.

The show starts with Uys impersonating Adolf Hitler. He wastes no time but straight away points out the similarities between Hitler and our own Julius Malema. It is all very chilling and it sounds like a racy Hollywood thriller as Uys reminds us that we are hanging on to the edge of our continent by our fingernails. “But what lovely manicured nails!” he then softens the blow.  Uys laments, “At the end of the war Hitler at least had the decency to commit suicide, which is more than what you can say of our Apartheid leaders.” Uys reminds us to support Juju since he promises us, ‘The goldmine at the end of the rainbow’.

What follows is a nostalgic trip through the memory lane of our political history and Uys’ own phenomenal career as a performer and activist. Uys lays out the rich tapestry that makes up our colourful country.  That he has always chosen to tackle difficult issues such as racism, HIV/Aids, freedom of speech and human rights, head on, is clear from the sheer volume and bravado of his performances and written work over the last 30 odd years.

Uys is having a field day with the inspiration and material supplied by our hotchpotch of eccentric politicians.  From Helen Zille to Kgalema – blink and you will miss his presidency – Motlantle, they all get a turn to dance center-stage. The recent police chief saga is dragged into the lime-light and I suspect as things develop on the political front over the next month, it will be worked into his performances.

Very funny is Uys’ sketch featuring a converted Piet Koornhof who is now a fierce ANC supporter. ‘Hypocrisy is the vaseline of political intercourse,’ Uys reminds us.  The Pik Botha sketch is funny, and chilling, as Botha ‘categorically’ states, ‘My conscious is clear. I never used it’.

The show is all done in good humour but the underlying seriousness of the topics and the grim transgressions of our politicians are glaringly obvious.  At times some of the material feels a bit dated which is perhaps inevitable given the time-span and the historical context of some of the work. The script feels as if it can do with just a small injection of something totally fresh and new.  However, Uys is still our number on Icon when it comes to political and social satire and his work and words commands respect wherever he performs.

It was PW Botha who gave Uys the title Adapt or Dye all those years ago. And ironically, in 2012 Pieter-Dirk Uys found inspiration by a politician who said, ‘adapt or fly!’ We seem to have come full circle, but as Uys says, ‘As long as we can laugh at our fear, we are still in charge of our future’.

BOOKING END TEXT:

* Tickets are from R100 to R140. Bookings at  www.computicket.com.

Astrid Stark – First published in Cape Times

Omnipotent Grip of Corruption’s Fist

First published in Cape Times June 2012.

It has been a long time since an injustice inflicted on a character left me feeling this outraged.  Accomplished actress, Anthea Thompson’s character Gabby is the protagonist whose circumstances left me feeling quite provoked.  The fact that I am a woman, and one of the key topics rape, probably fuelled my fury even more. Mike van Graan’s razor sharp writing and relentlessly paced plot certainly contributed.

Mike van Graan

Gabby is the white personal assistant to a prominent black minister with an impressive anti-apartheid struggle record. One dark night he rapes her, or ‘allegedly’ rapes her, depending on which side of the fence you are most comfortable on. Her ex-husband, who is the ruling party’s smooth-talking crack filler, is sent to dissuade her from pressing charges which would obviously be very damaging to the party’s reputation, especially considering that it is only 6 weeks before the country’s next election. However this is only the basic plot. There are lots of little sub-plots that add to Gabby’s dilemma as the complicated relationships and situations are laid bare by the actors.

The story is presented as an edgy courtroom drama thriller with a strong and unique South African flavour. The dialogue is snappy, and pared down to the very fine bone of necessity. Images projected onto a screen create a modern feel.  Green Man Flashing gives stalwart crime drama television shows, such as CSI, a good run for its money.

It is not fair to try and single out a performance, or actor, as the entire cast is clearly committed and very skilled. Performances are honest and brutal but without unnecessary melodrama.

When van Graan’s production opened in 2004 it was considered ground-breaking, brave, and very relevant, especially in the light of President Jacob Zuma corruption scandal, and ‘alleged’ – there is that word again – rape case which followed shortly after the play’s release.

Today the characters and their situations are as fitting as ever. Gender based violence in South Africais still one of our biggest scourges, as is the HIV and Aids infection rate, especially amongst women.  On the one hand you have Gabby presented with an opportunity to lay bare the violent sexual act which has been committed against and to give thousands of women a voice. On the other hand you have the men who selflessly saved thousands, maybe millions of lives from apartheid’s oppression. And then there is the omnipotent fist of corruption which, today, is holding our country in a deadlock by threatening to impoverish the state coffers and by bringing service delivery to a grinding halt.

Fortunately van Graan’s play does not preach to its audience or force us to pick sides. Rather, it allows us to grapple with the issues at hand, given our own circumstances or point of view.

BOOKING END TEXT:

* Tickets are from R50 to R85. Bookings via Computicket, 08619150000 or 0214217695.

GREEN MAN FLASHING. Written by Mike van Graan. Directed by Hennie van Greunen. Lighting Design by Hennie van Greunen and Jeanne Steenkamp. Set design by Marcel Meyer  With Anthea Thompson, Susan Danford, Thami Mbongo, Charlton George and Wiseman Sithole. Artscape Arena Theatre at 7h30Pm on Monday and Tuesday. Thereafter at 8h15PM. Until 23 Jun. ASTRID STARK reviews.

Theatre review: Inxeba Lomphilisi -The wound of the healer

 

First published in the Cape Times,  2 August 2010

 

Directors: Mandla Mbothwe and Faniswa Yisa
Cast: Faniswa Yisa, Asanda Rilityana, Thando Doni, Luvo Tamba, Thumeka Mzayiya
and Magnet Theatre Trainees Aphiwe Menziwa, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe, Thembekile Komani.  Movement Director: Jennie Reznek.  Choreographer: Ina Wichterich
Musical Director: Nolofefe Mtshabe.  Designer: Angela Nemov, assisted by Jennifer Bam
Lighting Designers: Craig Leo and Mark Fleishman.  Multimedia: Sanjin Muftic.
Translations: Thoko Ntshinga

The wound of the healer

 

At the Baxter until   ASTRID STARK reviews

 

Imagine a stretch along the highway were the souls of the undead wander in perpetual search of release from earth’s confining sorrow.   An earthbound female healer is consigned with the sacred, yet rather unfortunate, and certainly emotionally draining task of listening to the stories of these restless souls. Together with her helper, a man who searches among the living and the dead for his bride that never arrived, the healer must set the searching souls on a path of redemption. In the ghoulish mix you will meet spirit children who are searching for their parents’ graves so that they may join them in the big sleep, a man who refuses to accept that he is dead, and a woman mourning for her child.    This performance floods all five senses as it opens with a view of the N2 highway at nighttime.  Fresh mounds of soil with rough-edged handcrafted wooden crosses speak of the sorrowful events along the road.  You can actually smell the perfume of the soil and if you use your imagination you can feel the splinters of the wooden crosses dig into your palms as you shove it into the heart of the grave.

 The inside of the Flipside theatre is cold, really cold. They actually give out blankets as you walk in. But I would recommend that you take a beanie and a scarf to be sure.   On opening night the wind howled and whipped around the building which made it feel as if we were huddling next to the highway with the wind of speedy cars to chill us.  Add to this the zombie like ensemble of characters that dance and strut and fret out their final moments and you have a bit of Michael Jackson Thriller meets the Adams family on your hands. 

But it’s not really funny.  The theme of restless souls seeking redemption is ancient and enduring.   It is really tragic to see a man with his bride to be’s wedding dress in his hands weeping and searching and being singularly destroyed by his obsession with finding her.  We are all so interconnected and locked up in our relationships, and so very fragile, that when our reason for being is brutally ripped from our lives, we are left haunted.  Yet, this performance questions whether those we died before us are actually trying to communicate with us. It is not as if they died from a long suffering disease. Their deaths were sudden, unexpected, often brutal, and they are still reeling in shock.  Do our souls hang around or do they move on?

This production feels like a sequel to the equally moving The Grave of the Man is on the Side of the Road by the Magnet theatre. But it has progressed and it feels bigger and busier.  The stage design is whacky and very creepy. There is, what appears to be an animal hide, but of a rather impossibly large animal, stretched taut as a backdrop.  Figures, faces and hands are pressed against this from behind and it creates a kind of Rodin’s Gates of Hell effect.  It is a rendition of all the lost souls trap between the thin membrane that separates live and death. The children searching for their parents feels particularly haunting to me as I have a recurring dream of dead children trapped in a roof reaching out to me.  It is the very observant Carl Jung that said, ‘An unexamined dream is like an unopened letter’. And so the we go on and we search and we do what we do with frogs; we dissect them and inspect them.  We have so little grasp of the full scale of the universe out there.  Anything really is possible.  Says the director of the play, Mandla Mbothwe, “Without the stories of the ‘disappeared’ we are not whole.  Without their stories our spiritual and traditional being is empty. … The play takes our dreamtime and our real time and mashes them up in violent car crashes and brutal endings along a road until you don’t really know what is real and what has gone before. It is story of redemption, hope, love and above all the vulnerability of the human body and our search for release.  Sanjin Muftic again provides the haunting multimedia imagery projected on the screen which adds to the otherworldly quality of the production.

 

• The show starts at 20h00.   Tickets are R80 to R95.  For bookings visit www.computicket.co.za. 

Theatre review: Flowers for my flesh

At the Out The Box Festival March, 2010

 And there he is. Paul Kruger, who looks as if he’s just stepped out of the grave, complete with top hat and tails, is giving a sleeping or dead woman his version of the kiss of life.  This involves ripping a large bouquet of flowers from her deathly grip.  She opens her heavily made up eyes and starts hopping around; her Voortrekker kappie wildly flapping about.  From her severely torn broekie a penis shyly peeps out at the audience.

Peter van Heerden plays a character which I’ve named Magda van Bliksem but she really could be a Prudent or a Rachel or a Herman.  What follows is a most bizarre and fascinating journey throughout the Hiddingh campus as van Bliksem chases her man, the top and tails character, played with humour and pathos by the wildly bearded Andre Laubscher. 

Van Bliksem slips into a frock made of enormous metal rings, a metaphor for the chastity belt, and proceeds to climb up the side of the Little Theatre.  There is a beating, a braai and a drunken and abusive old South African husband in the mix and it’s all very odd. 

On the surface the actors appear to be making a statement about female subservience and male perversion in a white patriarchal society.  Van Heerden is known for his performance art that challenges and explores the role of the white male in our contemporary society, so perhaps the three males are metaphors for certain breeds of male in South Africa; the resurrected Vooortrekker in Laubscher’s character, van Bliksem as oppression turning around and devouring itself, and the very much alive beer –swilling- boerewors- braaing sexist white male.

 However the performance really got me thinking about a time in this country, not so long ago, when women were seen as little more than breeding machines to keep their husband’s bloodline going.  And this archaic practice of giving away your surname in favour of your husband’s – most bizarre.   

Andre Laubscher and friends in an imprompto performance on his farm.

Which really got me thinking about how female oppression is often thinly disguised as love, and how marriage and religion often reinforces the woman to be subservient to her husband, and to obey her jealous god.  

Which really, really got me thinking about black oppression, of the female kind, and how strong a metaphor Flowers for my Flesh, which it’s three white male characters, really is for the silently suffering black female in South Africa. 

Which in a very bizarre way got me thinking about how my parents and the Dutch Reformed church ‘lovingly’ sheltered me and my brother from the ‘blacks’.  “Love thy neighbour,” was said out loud every Sunday. But the unspoken words, ‘as long as they are white,’ still echoes in my mind.  Dialogue on the subject of blacks was taboo.   And it wasn’t until the late nineties that the first coloured face appeared in the church.  But by then it was too late for me.

Whether van Heerdens’ performance piece is really about emasculation, the Voortrekkers, sexism or racism, is left up to the spectator. For me its success lies in the inner dialogue and memories it stirred up within me and how grateful I am for having an independent brain which has lovingly sheltered me from the herd. 

As I am sitting here writing this, van Bliksem is being beaten by a dude wearing the Old South African Flag on his shirt, and the angry red welts will mark just another day at the office for van Heerden.