KZN Showbiz Spotlight

WELL, hello all! After 24 years as an arts editor and theatre reviewer in the local print media, and a film reviewer and music columnist for many years before that, welcome to my first post as a showbiz blogger for East Coast Radio.

In the words of Disney’s Aladdin, “a whole new world” has opened up to me with my flight into the “inter-web”, and I am hugely excited to provide a regular Friday round-up, for East Coast Radio, of what’s best, bright and buzzing on the KwaZulu-Natal showbiz scene.

I have also launched SoSuterBill, my own showbiz website at highlighting entertainment and leisure news, views, interviews and reviews, and elaborating on events discussed here. Please check it out and spread the word.

Durban may, in some circles, still be sniffed at as something of a Cinderella city when it comes to arts and culture, compared to Joburg and Cape Town. But please don’t roll your eyes too readily and dramatically… note that dear Ol’ Durbs and surrounds have upped their game considerably in recent years, and we have much quality and variety to offer.

Theatre

Fresha Festival

The hottest local showbiz news this week is the introduction of a fresh, fun and - best of all - free initiative on the Durban theatre scene: the Fresha Festival. It replaces the Musho! festival of solo and two-hander plays that ran for 11 years every January at the (sadly) now-defunct Catalina Theatre on Wilson’s Wharf.

The Fresha Festival is to be held at the beachfront’s Bay of Plenty, and will start at 5pm today (January 20) with a free beachfront promenade procession and performance showcase, to provide an overview of the weekend ahead.

At 5.30pm today (January 20), in a specially erected Bedouin-style marquee on the lawn at Bay of Plenty, the festival will present Road, a dance work by Moving Into Dance Mophatong (MIDM).

Described as poetic and poignant duet, this work is choreographed by Oscar Buthelezi, who recently returned from Germany with international awards for the piece. Featuring Buthelezi and MIDM dancer and rehearsal director, Muzi Shili, it tells of navigating to a place where most want to be, and defining the route that guides us there. There is no charge for the Durban performance, although donations will be encouraged.

The festival programme will then offer nine diverse, short shows tomorrow and nine more on Sunday (January 21 and 22), presented from noon until 5pm, offering a full afternoon of free, diverse, family-friendly entertainment. At 5pm on Saturday, the show in the marquee, for which donations are encouraged, is Hit and Run, presented by theatre company De Veenfabriek from the Netherlands.

The 5pm Sunday pay-what-you-can production in the marquee is the delightful Andrew Buckland-penned piece, Feedback, a quirky physical-theatre success starring local cousins TQ Nzimande and Mpilo Zondi.

More detailed information about festival shows and times is available here or by visiting their website here. 

Wouldn’t It Be Luvverly

Worth considering if you’re a fan of musicals is a Durban tribute to the songs of My Fair Lady. Teaming Howick-based singer-pianist Cat Simoni (see interview here) and her manager Paul Spence, the show is titled Wouldn’t It Be Luvverly. Catch it at the Rhumbelow Theatre in Cunningham Road, Umbilo, at 2pm and 6.30pm on Sunday (January 22). Tickets for the show, which has been devised and directed by Spence, cost R150. Book at Computicket or phone 082 499 8636.

Music

Melvin Peters Quartet

Durban’s excellent Melvin Peters Quartet, offering originals and covers, performs from 7pm today (January 20) at The Jazzy Rainbow, 93 Smiso Nkwanyana Road, Morningside, as part of the Concerts SA initiative promoting local talent.

Admission is R70 a head which includes a drink. More information is available by calling 031 303 8398.

Peters, who heads the group on piano, studied under Darius Brubeck in the early 1980s and graduated with a Master of Music degree in 1989. His quartet’s sax man is Jeff Robinson, a retired academic who continues to lecture part-time at UKZN in the field of Music Education. Bassist Ildo Nanja is presently involved in post-graduate studies, while drummer Bruce Baker is the drum tutor at UKZN.

Tennis & Tunes

If you’re after some laidback music in an informal environment, you’d do well to pop in to the Windsor Tennis Club, opposite Durban’s Glenwood High School, every Monday evening. For the past few weeks, the club’s Roland Stansell, who is also the entertainment co-ordinator for the Rhumbelow Theatre venues, has been presenting Tennis & Tunes.

The idea is for people to play an informal game of tennis between 4pm and 6pm (or, like me, watch the tennis while enjoying the shade and a drink or two), and then take in the music in the club hall from 6pm to 9pm.

A different act is featured each Monday, wors rolls and toasted sandwiches are available at the club pub, and the R50 admission includes the music and the tennis.

I caught Durban vocal trio The Brunettes there recently and had a great, casual night out - the humidity notwithstanding. The spotlight will be on folk singer Miriam Erasmus this coming Monday (January 23) - then guitarist Nux Schwartz and bassist Jason Andrew will entertain the following week. Singer-keyboardist Calli Thomson performs on February 6 and 20, and seasoned pianist Melvin Peters and vocalist Haylea Hounsom-Heyns slots in on February 13. Phone Roland for more details on 082 499 8636.

Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute show

Roland at 082 499 8636 is your contact to book for Durban band Black Lapels’ excellent Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute show at the Rhumbelow Theatre’s Pietermaritzburg branch, at the Allan Wilson Shellhole in Durban Road.

After a return season at the Durban Rhumbelow Theatre in Umbilo last weekend, the show moves to Pietermaritzburg for performances at 2pm and 6.30pm on Sunday (January 22). Expect to hear such hits as Bad Moon Rising, Someday Never Comes, Have You Ever Seen the Rain?, Hey Tonight and Suzy Q. Tickets cost R150 each.

New on the Movie Circuit

No Man’s Land

My pick of the movies opening in Durban today is Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land, at Umhlanga’s Cinema Nouveau - the latest in the National Theatre Live series of filmed London stage productions. It is scheduled for screenings at 7.30pm on January 21, 25 and 26, and 2.30pm on January 22.

Starring Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, under the direction of Sean Mathias, the play was filmed live at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre for broadcast to cinemas globally.

It tells of two ageing writers, Hirst (Stewart) and Spooner (McKellen), who meet in a Hampstead pub and continue their drinking into the night at Hirst’s stately house nearby. As they become increasingly inebriated, and their stories increasingly unbelievable, the lively conversation soon turns into a revealing power game, further complicated by the return home of two sinister younger men (Owen Teale and Damien Molony).

The running time of the production is about two hours and 20 minutes, including a 20-minute interval and a post-performance question-and-answer session.

Watch the trailer of No Man’s Land below

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