From www.computicket.co.za

Evita, one of the best known creations of the amazing partnership between Andrew, Baron Lloyd Webberand Sir Tim Rice, has enjoyed sell out seasons around the world and been adored by millions of theatregoers worldwide.

The original Broadway production of Evita ran for 1,567 performances and won the 1980 Tony Award for the Best Musical along with a swathe of other awards. The musical attracted a host of new fans after the release of the 1996 film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas.

Evita tells the story of Argentinian first lady Eva Peron – or María Eva Duarte de Perón - who used her charisma and street smarts to make a meteoric rise from humble beginnings as the illegitimate child of a rural landowner to the presidential mansion as First Lady. Adored by her people as a champion for the poor, she became one of the most powerful women in the world - while her greed, outsized ambition and fragile health made her one of the most tragic.

The title role will be played by Chireen Ferreira, an accomplished singer, dancer and actress, who is no stranger to PE audiences. Chireen has worked extensively on both the South African and International stage, most notably playing the role of Rumpleteaser in the international touring cast of Cats. (more…)

A major South African artist Herman Wald will have his biggest exhibition in Cape Town, 42 years after his death. The digital-age retrospective will also break new ground in the Arts market, offering online global access to the entire collection and its catalogue. The exhibition, Wings of the Shechinah - The Sculptural Art of Herman Wald, opens at the South African Jewish Museum, Cape Town on 20th February and runs until 15 July 2012. On show will be almost 60 sculptures, more than 40 sketches, writings and audio visual displays.

Hungarian-born Herman Wald, the son of a Rabbi, challenged the Orthodox Jewish restriction against carved images of the human form. After studying, doing apprenticeships and working in Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, Paris and London he moved to South Africa in 1937 to escape the persecutions of the Nazi era and established his studio in Johannesburg. ‘The Art of Herman Wald’ follows a run of successful exhibitions at the museum that include painters Marc Chagall and Irma Stern, photojournalist David Goldblatt and recently cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro. (more…)

By Kenneth Davison

I don’t think anyone needs a reminder about what time of year it is now. I won’t harp on too much about the joy of Christmas, the festivities and the obscene volume of food that will be eaten in the next few weeks. What I do want to talk about is the sort of things you can do this festive season, particularly with your children.

December is a great time for family theatre and there are few activities more fun than viewing the pantomimes. For those who do not know what a pantomime is, it is a musical comedy that is performed at a theatre, generally around Christmas time (what is a musical comedy at other times of the year?). The pantomimes have been bringing joy to scores of children, and this year I have tracked down some that look like they will be great. (more…)

By Limakatso Khalianyane
28 October 2011

If you’re in Joburg for the summer, get yourself to one of the city’s theatres. There is top-class entertainment on offer, including comedy, music and the panto.

THEATRE lovers can prepare for a feast of comedy, children’s plays and musicals as the festive season draws nearer.

The Girl In The Yellow DressNat and Kate in The Girl In The Yellow DressJoburg theatres are dishing up variety of shows for all age groups this summer, ranging from a children’s play at the National Children’s Theatre to the much-loved pantomime at the Joburg Theatre Complex.

Starting off with The Girl in The Yellow Dress at the Market Theatre, this engrossing psycho-sexual drama is back after a successful run in 2010. (more…)

By Jacqui Thompson

You must have been on the dark side of the moon if you haven’t heard or sung along to at least one song from the British supergroup Pink Floyd.

PULSE, by New Zealand’s The Pink Floyd Experience, is the latest show to pay homage to the band whose career peaked twenty to thirty years ago and is on stage at The Mandela at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein. (more…)

Enchantment arrived in Durban this June when the fabulous and unforgettable Madame Zingara’s Theatre of Dreams opened at the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World.

The dinner cirque spectacular premiered in the elegant mirror tent Victoria on 1 June 2011 with new acts to astound and amaze, accompanying a decadent four-course feast.

South Africa’s Burlesque sensation is opened by The Little Queen of Tarts, a sassy master of the art of quick change. Rory Avenstrup, the livewire Little Queen of Tarts, says “dynamite comes in small packages”. As one of the cirque’s anchor performers, Avenstrup is an experienced actress and puppeteer with performances on stage and film. Movie buffs will remember her in Paljas, directed by Katinka Heyns, where she took the role of Solly. (more…)

By Florence Modikwe

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If it’s worth seeing, doing or experiencing, Montecasino has got it – and with all the exciting events and production taking place over the next few months, you won’t want to miss out!

Montecasino will for the first time host the Wade Bales Wine Festival on the Montecasino Outdoor Piazza on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 May. Fifty of South Africa’s premier wine estates, including Waterford, Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, Cape Point Vineyards and Ernie Els, will be showcasing their flagship red and white wines. The truly unique aspect of the festival is that they have only invited the country’s top 50 producers to the festival thereby ensuring that those who attend have access to taste the most prestigious wines that South Africa has to offer.

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The Teatro at Montecasino will be the place to be this month as GREASE – the international hit show – heads to Johannesburg. Since breaking out on Broadway in 1972, Grease’s place has been firmly established in the cultural Hall of Fame as the “No. 1 Greatest Musical”, having seduced the hearts of millions with its back-to-back sizzling tunes.

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Set to feature an all South African cast, the show will run from 17 April to 13 June 2010, and will undoubtedly touch audiences with all the unforgettable original songs from the movie including, You’re The One That I Want, Grease Is The Word, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted To You, Sandy and Greased Lightnin’. Bookings now open through Computicket and with prices ranging from R100 to R350; you definitely won’t want to miss GREASE… IT’S ELECTRIFYING! (more…)

Title: Joburg: The Pen
Location: Johannesburg
Link out: Click here

The Pen

Description: The Pen tells the story of a young playwright, Sipho, in the throes of writing a new play. Beset by writers block, he is lured into a seductive journey with his muse, Thandi. The boundaries between fantasy and reality become blurred as he begins to live in an increasingly illusionary world dominated by this sexy, assertive goddess. This is a tale about the difficulties of writing and of star-crossed lovers, told with great verve by author Monde Mayephu. The cast features Sello Maake kaNcube, Mmabatho Mogomotsi and Zandile Msutwana, and the play is directed by Mpho J Molepo.

Where: Market’s Barney Simon Theatre, 56 Margaret Mcingana Street, Newtown

Date: 19 January – 21 February 2010
Time: 8.15pm during the week; 3.15pm on Sundays
Contact number: 011 832 1641
Booking fees: Tickets are from R50pp – R120pp at Computicket

Start Date: 2010-01-19
Start Time: 20:15
End Date: 2010-02-21

Learn more about the development of theatre in South Africa.

Foreplay

Title: Joburg: Foreplay
Location: Johannesburg
Link out: Click here
Description: Foreplay is a modern South African adaptation of Arthur Schnizler’s Reigen, more commonly known as La Ronde. The play comprises a series of 10 interconnected love scenes brought from Vienna of the 1890s into the vivid and distinctive world of Paul Grootboom\’s South Africa 2008. The scenes have been altered to fit specific South African situations, and although the circular structure of the original play has been maintained, here the adaptation revolves around the world of theatre, focusing on the two protagonists - the Poet/Playwright and the Actress.

Where: Market’s Laager Theatre, 56 Margaret Mcingana Street, Newtown

Date: Until 14 March 2010
Time: 8.15pm during the week; 3.15pm on Sundays
Contact number: 011 832 1641
Booking fees: Tickets are from R50pp – R120pp at Computicket

Start Date: 2010-01-15
Start Time: 20:15
End Date: 2010-03-14